


Holiday dates

by Nightsouls



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Dinner, Christmas Eve, Coffee date, Concerts, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Friendsgiving, Getting Together, Happy Ending, Holidate AU, Light Angst, M/M, Misunderstandings, Musician Bokuto Koutarou, New Year's Eve, New Year's Kiss, New Year's fortune, New York AU, Reporter Akaashi Keiji, Semi Slow Burn, Shrine Visit, Starbucks, Strangers to Lovers, Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving Dinner
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-26
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:28:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 63,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27726179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nightsouls/pseuds/Nightsouls
Summary: In the middle of a Thanksgiving dinner with his friends, Akaashi's boyfriend decided to break up with him. On the other hand, Koutarou suffers uncomfortable questions regarding his sexuality at a family dinner.When the holidays come around, one should have someone so you can spend the day with them, right?Two "lonely" guys will find company in each other during the days that one is supposed to spend with their loved ones, thus having someone with whom to survive those days.Because holidays are always better with a good looking guy by you side, right?This is a New York AU - Holidate AU.This story will take place on different holidays and will be updated on those days or days close to them.
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou, Haiba Lev/Yaku Morisuke, Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru, Konoha Akinori/Shirofuku Yukie, Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou, Sawamura Daichi/Sugawara Koushi
Comments: 39
Kudos: 86





	1. Awkward dinners

**Author's Note:**

  * A translation of [Citas festivas](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27692270) by [Nightsouls](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nightsouls/pseuds/Nightsouls). 



> Well I've been working on this project for quite some time, since I actually saw the movie and I don't know, I thought it would be fun to see Bokuto and Akaashi in those situations.
> 
> The film on which this story is based is called Holidate.
> 
> It is a New York AU for 2 reasons: 1. The holidays I'll use are mostly American. 2. I love New York! I have visited it 3 times and 3 times I have been in love with the city!
> 
> Enjoy! ♥

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "If it makes you feel better, we never liked that asshole," Sugawara said, removing the bottle from above the black haired's head. "He was soo..."
> 
> "Arrogant? Superficial? Self-centered? Snob? Cocky?” Oikawa began to recite.
> 
> .
> 
> "Mom will to nag you so much when dinner is over," Koutarou said taking another empty plate.
> 
> Megumi smirked.
> 
> "I'm immune, Mom adores me because I'll give her and dad their first grandchild," the young woman said before giving Koutarou a mocking look, "you on the other hand... I don't think you'll be so lucky."
> 
> "Hey! Of course I can give them a grandchild!"
> 
> Megumi laughed heartily.
> 
> "I know, but she doesn't understand yet..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really enjoyed writing this chapter.
> 
> Like Thanksgiving is something so family related, and while in my family we enjoy it a lot, I know a lot of people suffer during this family gatherings, because they have to deal with people they rather not see. That's why I tried to make a contrast between the two dinners, both have their awkward parts in their own way.
> 
> I hope you enjoy it ♥

Keiji hid his smile behind his glass as he saw how Oikawa tried to seduce Iwaizumi with a dance that was, in theory, pretty sexy. The problem was that Oikawa had no rhythm at all.

"Keiji, can I talk to you for a second?" Asked his boyfriend's voice as a hand rested on his shoulder.

"Sure, I just want to see how Iwaizumi-san will make Oikawa-san stop dancing," replied the black haired man, resting his cheek on top of the hand on his shoulder.

"It seems like that will take a while," said the young man next to him, withdrawing his hand from Keiji's shoulder.

"No, I've seen this before, Iwaizumi-san is about to reach his limit, Oikawa won't last dancing more than one more song..."

"Keiji, I really would prefer that we talk about it right now" asked his boyfriend placing again his hand on his shoulder.

Something in the back of his mind told him that his boyfriend's voice was a bit more serious than usual, but decided that this could be because it was the first time he met with his friends. He didn't have much time to think about it, since he soon felt his boyfriend turn him, leaving them face to face.

"Mike..."

"I want to break up" the blonde said suddenly.

Keiji suddenly stopped hearing the noise around him.

He wasn't sure if the reason was because his friends had been silent or because the only thing he seemed to be able to hear was the sound of his blood running through his ears.

"Huh?" Asked the raven without fully understanding the situation.

"I said I want to break up."

Keiji nodded

"I heard you the first time," the black haired man muttered, lowering his gaze and then lifting his face and fixing his eyes on Mike's green eyes. "Can we talk about this outside?" Asked suddenly feeling the gaze of everyone in the room on them.

Indeed, his friends had been silent all that time.

"That's what I asked you before," the blond growled.

Keiji guessed that in another situation he would have rolled his eyes.

"I know, but when you asked, I didn't think you were going to break up with me," Keiji replied, feeling a headache beginning to form behind his eyes. "Let's go outside."

Both men went out to the small porch before everyone's eyes. Keiji opened the door that led to the small porch. The raven shuddered as soon as he stepped out from the warmth of the inside of the house, the late November cold was inclement. The voice in the back of his mind reminded him that there was a snow forecast for that week, because of that he had planned to take Mike out for a walk through Central Park on the day the snow began to fall. Apparently he would have to do that alone.

Once the Mike closed the door, he spoke.

"No matter what you say, you won't make me change my mind," Mike declared with a frown.

Keiji took a deep breath before staring at the blonde.

"I don't plan on making you change your mind, but I would like to know why you are breaking up with me," Keiji said, shaking his head. "You must have a reason."

"My girlfriend found out about us."

The words of her now ex-boyfriend felt like a bucket of cold water to the face.

Mike had a girlfriend?

For four months he had been a simple lover?

"Eh?" Was the only thing he managed to say.

Mike put his hands to his temples, the way Keiji remembered him doing when he was getting frustrated. Over the past four months, I'd seen him make that move multiple times, but he'd never been the one to trigger it.

"Look, this has been fun, but between you and Annabeth, my choice is clear," said the blond, closing his eyes, then opening them and fixing his gaze on Keiji's. Mike's gaze was very different from the ones he'd given him before, it was colder than ever. "As much as I like to hear you moan in japanese, it's not enough for me to leave her."

Keiji felt his concentration suddenly return.

"Do you realize that what you say is stupid?" Asked the black-haired man feeling that a blush took over his face and neck. "I don't moan in Japanese, moans have no language..."

Mike shook his head.

"I mean when you yelled _itai, motto_..."

Keiji felt his cheeks heat up as he shook his head.

"Do you realize that you are an idiot?" Keiji asked, happy that he had managed to keep his anger despite his embarrassment. "First of all you had a girlfriend, second it seems like your only interest in me was that you seem to have a fetish with me being Japanese, and third because you are breaking up with me on fucking Thanksgiving in front of all my friends."

Mike shrugged before opening the door, behind which his friends stood, clearly listening to the discussion. The fact did not seem to matter to his ex-boyfriend, since he simply passed among his friends and took his jacket from the coat hanger.

"Happy Thanksgiving" was the only thing the blond said before opening the door.

"I hope you'll rot, you idiot!" Sugawara yelled as the door closed.

Immediately, six concerned pairs of eyes focused on him.

"He was an idiot" was the only thing Keiji managed to say.

Oikawa stepped out onto the porch before wrapping an arm around the raven haired man's shoulders and leading him inside the house.

He immediately appreciated the warmth of the place.

"You need a beer, Akaa-chan."

"He needs a glass of Lambrusco," Yaku said.

Keiji shook his head.

"I don't want to drink anything," the black haired man muttered.

"Vodka," his friends said in unison.

.

"So, are you the top or the bottom?" Asked a tall, plump woman with black hair. "From your build the answer would be obvious, but you are so sweet..."

Koutarou tried hard not to roll his eyes.

"Kou, can you help me with the dishes for a moment?" His older sister's voice shouted from the kitchen.

Koutarou took advantage of his sister's call to escape from his aunt.

"Thank you," the young man muttered, taking the pile of empty plates that was on the kitchen island.

"Aunt Makoto is as insufferable as ever, huh?"

Koutarou sighed as he placed a plate near his sister so she could put a piece of turkey on it, after that, he took the plate and began to serve the mashed potatoes and salad.

"Who told her I'm gay?" Koutarou asked, frowning. "I'm not hiding it, but..."

"Mom, the day you told her you didn't want another date to arrange a marriage," the young woman answered. "The moment you left the house, mom called me and Lisa to cry because the last name Bokuto would be lost... You don't need to be a rocket scientist to know who got the next call."

Koutarou groaned annoyed.

"Why did not you tell me? If I had known I wouldn't have come" Koutarou said taking a second plate to prepare it.

"Oh, I told Lisa that it was best to warn you, but she said that if we did it, you wouldn't come," answered the older woman smiling. "And from what you just said she was right."

"Don't you realize that whenever she sees me he will ask me things that I don't really want to be asked?" Koutarou muttered taking a third plate.

"Come on, you know it will only be a while, she will get drunk and then she will start with her usual drama" said the young woman before closing her eyes and bringing a hand to her forehead. "Oh! Why does no man wants to be with me? I'm just a fifty-year-old hag who thinks men are only worth the size of their wallet and dick" she exclaimed, mimicking her aunt's loud voice.

It didn't take long to Koutarou to burst into laughing.

"Very funny, Megumi," said the woman's voice that a few seconds ago had mimicked by the young woman who at that moment was serving a slice of turkey on a plate that Koutarou held out.

Koutarou's laugh died instantly.

"A-Aunt M-Makoto ..." the two began to stammer.

"I'm glad that my private life is something that amuses you, I hope it is just as much fun when you end up like me," the woman declared as she walked to where the dishes were served.

"Don't worry, I don't think Javier is going to leave me" Megumi said as she raised her left hand, showing her ring, and then passed a hand to her abdomen, which was somewhat bulging from her third month of pregnancy "and even if he will, I would have more important people to worry about than other men."

The older one frowned before grabbing a single dish and leaving the kitchen.

"Mom will to nag you so much when dinner is over," Koutarou said taking another empty plate.

Megumi smirked.

"I'm immune, Mom adores me because I'll give her and dad their first grandchild," the young woman said before giving Koutarou a mocking look, "you on the other hand... I don't think you'll be so lucky."

"Hey! Of course I can give them a grandchild!"

Megumi laughed heartily.

"I know, but she doesn't understand yet..."

They continued serving the food in silence for a few moments, before Koutarou decided to say something that had been a long time in his mind.

"I really want to have a family," the younger one declared. "Like really, I would like to have a husband, to be able to have children, a dog and a cat... The fact that I like men does not prevent me from wanting that. When mom will understand that?"

Megumi smiled before wiping her hand on her apron and ruffling Koutarou's hair.

"I think she will only understand when she sees you do it," said the young woman, "but when you do, do it for yourself, not for her, okay?"

Koutarou snorted in amusement.

"Of course, clearly I will do all that to please the person I have been going against all my life..."

Megumi laughed out loud, just like she did whenever they both talked about something that was about upsetting their strict mother.

"Hey if you have time to laugh hurry up to finish serving the food! We're starving!'' Their other sister's voice shouted from the living room.

"If you're so hungry, stop watching the game for a second and come help us!" Koutarou yelled.

"No way! The Saints are about to catch up with the Falcons! ”Lisa yelled from the living room.

"How much money did she bet on her Fantasy league?" Megumi asked serving another slice of turkey.

"In the league that I'm with her, we bet fifty bucks, but I'm sure she is in four more," said the minor, serving mashed potatoes on the plate that his sister had just handed him. "This game is important because in that league her quarterback is the Saints' one."

"Huh? Why did she picked Drew Brees?"

"Because she has a lot of good running backs and wide receivers, she had to sacrifice her quarterback for that."

Lisa's shriek of joy interrupted the siblings' conversation.

"Lisa! Lower your voice! You will leave all of us deaf!'' Bokuto's mother's voice shouted from the dining room.

Both siblings laughed heartily. 

.

Keiji felt the tequila burning his throat as it passed through it.

It was not his favorite sensation, nor was it his favorite drink, but his friends wanted to get him drunk and that was the easiest way to do it, since the bottle of vodka that Yaku and Haiba had brought had run out with the shots they had made during the afternoon.

In other circumstances, he would be completely against his friends' plan to get him drunk, especially if it involved tequila, but he had the Friday off and all he wanted was to forget the embarrassment that from a few minutes ago.

Plus, vodka was Mike's favorite drink, and right now he didn't want to drink anything that reminded him of his ex-boyfriend.

"If it makes you feel better, we never liked that asshole," Sugawara said, removing the bottle from above the black haired's head. "He was soo..."

"Arrogant? Superficial? Self-centered? Snob? Cocky?” Oikawa began to recite.

"He's an idiot, who ends a relationship on Thanksgiving?" Yaku asked, coming back from the kitchen with a plate of turkey and carrot puree. "Here, you haven't eaten enough to take all that alcohol that Suga is giving you. You don't want to wake up tomorrow with a hangover and throwning up, do you?"

Keiji shook his head before accepting the dish.

"Thank you, Yaku-san," he said and then took a bite of the turkey that Daichi had made with his mother's help. "I wonder what that Annabeth girl thinks of me..."

"Akaa..."

"Does she know that I was cheated on too? Or does she think I'm an idiot who doesn't care about other people's feelings? Does she know that I am a man? What's...?"

A hand on his shoulder made him stop talking.

"Don't think about that, it is not your fault, what she thinks or not of you is not important. You know he's the asshole,” Sawamura said smiling in a clear attempt to reassure Keiji. "Now eat before Suga tries to drown you in more tequila."

"You say it like it's a bad thing when he clearly needs it!" Sugawara exclaimed.

The conversation between his group of friends continued as Keiji ate in silence, watching everyone interact.

He frowned somewhat annoyed.

His friends had a special bond with their partners.

Yaku had a bad temper and Haiba tended to talk without any kind of filter when he spoke, which continually caused the older one to get mad, but beyond the couple's apparent aggressiveness and lack of tact, the two complemented each other in an undeniable way, it was enough to see how at that moment Yaku handed Haiba the last slice of pumpkin pie, which Yaku had been waiting to try since early afternoon and which he had not managed to try since he found himself busy helping to serve the food. Sugawara was a demon with the face of an angel, usually the one who tried to make chaos reign in the place, usually through unhealthy amounts of alcohol; on the other hand, Sawamura was the true voice of reason in the couple, who managed to lower a couple of levels the chaos his boyfriend was trying to create through simple actions, such as hugging the young man with silver hair, distracting him immediately. Oikawa tended to be such an outgoing person that he intimidated others with his excess of self-esteem and perceptiveness, being Iwaizumi's job to make Oikawa see where others' limits layed, even if his methods were both violent and questionable, yet seeing how Iwaizumi stayed with Oikawa despite any discomfort he might suffer due to him and how Oikawa devoted his full attention to his boyfriend, was enough to understand the love they had for each other.

If he thought about it, Keiji never managed to have that kind of connection with Mike.

The only person with whom he had managed to have that level of trust and comfort had been with Osamu.

And at that moment Osamu was with Suna, probably at a Thanksgiving dinner, enjoying the Falcons game against the Saints.

"You know, Keiji?" Oikawa suddenly asked, who at that moment was sitting on the lap of Iwaizumi, who was sitting on the sofa. "I see you more upset than when you and Miya broke up, but less sad?"

Keiji tensed upon hearing the question. It wasn't that the question was unexpected, not entirely, after all Oikawa tended to ask the awkward questions at the most inappropiate moments, but because of the fact that he had somehow described how he felt.

"Stupikawa..."

When he recovered from the shock, the raven shrugged.

"I'm upset because all this time Mike made a fool of me, but I'm not really sad because looking back, I think I never really felt connected with him," the young man explained, "not like with Osamu," he added in a whisper.

The conversation was interrupted by Sugawara, who kept the bottle of tequila in his hands, despite Sawamura's efforts to have him leave it in the kitchen.

"This is not the time to talk about your exes! It's time to plan how you will enjoy being single, handsome, sexy, and young!"

Keiji rolled his eyes.

"I honestly don't think I have time to be any of that, Sugawara-san," replied the black haired man, while he smirked, "studying a masters degree is too time consuming."

"Come on Akaa-chan! You still had time to go out with that asshole!" Oikawa retorted.

The black haired man shrugged.

"He was the one who flirted with me, and it was during the vacations."

His friends rolled their eyes.

"I think they should respect that Akaashi wants to be alone and at peace after this," Daichi stated, smiling at Keiji.

"How about we leave Keiji's private life alone and watch the game? '' Asked Yaku, who now had a slice of the chocolate cake that Keiji had baked a few hours ago, a quick glance verified that the last slice of pumpkin pie was halfway down on the plate that Haiba held in his hands.

Keiji nodded smiling.

After all, he had Alvin Kamara on his Fantasy league team.

.

"Are you planning to buy something on Black Friday?" Lisa asked before taking a big bite of a turkey leg that Megumi had reserved for her.

Koutarou nodded.

"There is a Samsung TV that will only be on sale tomorrow at Bestbuy."

"Wouldn't it be better if you go today? Or wait until Monday?" asked Megumi's husband.

"Is a Doorbuster," the gray haired young man explained, "and the offer is pretty good, so I'll be waiting outside Bestbuy tomorrow at six."

Javier smiled.

"Megumi! Don't you want to go with Koutarou tomorrow? He says there are good deals! And we could use a new television!" his brother-in-law shouted towards the dining room, where Megumi was talking with her parents.

"Why don't you go with Koutarou tomorrow?" Megumi yelled back, clearly amused.

His brother-in-law rolled her eyes.

"I'll work tomorrow! Sam didn't give us Friday off!"

"I'll be working tomorrow too! I'll have an 18th century architecture class and two project management classes!"

"But your classes will start at 12! You would have time to go buy a TV!"

"Megumi, you will leave all of us deaf!"

Koutarou smiled at the exchange.

"What time will you go?" Megumi asked, entering the room.

"I plan to be in the line at six in the morning."

The woman sighed.

"I hate getting up so early, that's why I ask that all my classes be in the after 12:00..." muttered the older one, frowning.

"Come on Megumi! It will be fun!" Lisa exclaimed smiling from side to side.

"Huh? Will you join us?" Koutarou asked turning to see his other sister.

"Yes! It will be fun! I can also try to get a new computer!" The young woman answered smiling.

"Instead of trying to get a new computer, you should try to get a boyfriend, Lisa," declared her mother's voice, who was entering the room at the time. "You're getting closer to thirty..."

Koutarou's sister rolled her eyes.

"They don't have deals for those on Black Friday," replied the girl, "although I don't know if the 69th street brothel has special deals tomorrow, are we going Koutarou? They may find a offer of two guys for the price of one."

The three siblings laughed heartily at their mother's furious gaze.

.

His cell phone began to ring in his apartment, causing Keiji to have to get up from his comfortable and warm bed to take it, which was strategically placed on the other side of the room, forcing him to walk a couple of steps and wake up completely. During his college years he had developed this method of forcing himself to wake up to set off his alarm, after all once out of his bed it was more difficult for him to go back to sleep.

But that wasn't his alarm, it was his ringtone.

By the time he was able to pick up his phone, the call was over, and his screen showed a notification of a missed call from Oikawa.

He decided he needed a coffee before talking to his friend.

The slight pain behind his eyes was the indicator that the hangover of that day wouldn't be too strong, probably if he had slept longer he would not have noticed it.

Just as he was pressing the coffee he had left sitting overnight in his French press, to make a cold brew, his cell phone rang again. He sighed before accepting the call.

"Akaa-chan, I'll be at your apartment in twenty minutes," Oikawa's voice declared as a greeting.

Keiji glanced at the clock on his microwave before answering.

"Oikawa-san, it's five thirty in the morning," he growled somewhat annoyed.

It was his day off and Oikawa had woken him up an hour before his normal time.

"If you hurry we'll get to Bestbuy on time!"

Keiji rolled his eyes.

"Bestbuy opens at nine in the morning, we will arrive three hours earlier."

"It's Black Friday! Keiji we have take our place in the line early!" Oikawa exclaimed over a couple of screams in the background, the normal hustle of the subway.

"I don't need anything from Bestbuy, I don't see why to waste my day off waiting to enter a store..."

"Let's go! I need a new stereo! There are also many offers! You will find something!"

Keiji rolled his eyes before remembering that his headphones were starting to be heard more on the left side than the right. Maybe it was a good idea to look for some noise-proof headphones.

He bit his lip watching the time.

He really had nothing better to do, and he wouldn't be able to go back to sleep, especially if he had his cup of coffee.

"Okay, but you'll take care of breakfast," the black haired man declared.

"I'm actually ten minutes from your apartment, but I'll go to Bergen Bagels first. "Do you want a baked salmon bagel? And your awful caffeine concentrate?"

Keiji smiled to himself.

"I'll be ready when you get here," Keiji declared.

"That's whatI wanted to listen! Suga will meet us there!"

.

"Lisa! Hurry up! We'll be late!'' Koutarou yelled as he knocked the door of his sister's apartment over and over again.

"Lisa! Didn't get up at five in the morning to be late because you didn't get up on time!" Megumi yelled, joining Koutarou's knocks against their sister's door.

"I'm coming! I'm coming!" Her sister's voice shouted from the other side of the door just before it opened, revealing the young woman. "God, you sure woke up all the neighbors with your screams. If I get a complaint from them it will be their fault."

Megumi smirked.

"Like you don't have complaints about your parties."

Lisa smiled at her siblings.

"You're right about that.

The three of them left the building laughing and speaking with their usual lack of volume awareness, heading for the subway station.

"Hey, I didn't ask you yesterday because I knew that it would have made Mom start bothering you, but how's everything going with your band?" Lisa asked smiling.

Koutarou let a huge grim cover his face.

"Very well! In fact today we will have a live at a place near Middle Village!" The younger one replied as he passed his subway card through the machine.

"Oh yeah? And are we invited?" Megumi asked stopping in front of the yellow line that marked where to wait for the transport.

"Of course! You will always be more than invited to go!" exclaimed the minor before turning to see her sister's belly and frowning. "Although in the place there will probably be people smoking..."

Megumi laughed heartily.

"Don't worry, I don't think I can. Javier will surely want to spend the night installing the new television and wanting to see how good it is compared to the one we have in the bedroom," said the young woman smiling.

Lisa's arm was wrapped around Koutarou's shoulders, before the girl forced him to bend over.

"Don't worry Koutarou! I'll be there!"

The gray haired young man released himself from his sister's grip and smiled.

"Perfect! I'll tell Kuroo to send you the address and leave a pass for you!"

Lisa smiled.

"Oh no, if I'm going to see you I'll pay to do it like everyone else."

Koutarou was about to reply when the subway stopped in front of them.

"Hey, I'm getting hungry! Can we buy something on the way?" Asked the boy as he took out his phone. "What do you want?"

"Is the bagels place near Bestbuy open?" Megumi asked, sitting in one of the few free seats.

"Bergen bagels?"

"Yes! Where did you get that strawberry cream cheese bagel from!"

Koutarou thought for a moment trying to remember the openning hour of the place. In all his time living in Brooklyn, he had never been out of his apartment before 8:00 am, that Friday being a huge exception, so he had never worried about knowing the openning hours of the places where he used to have breakfast. He had only been sure that the buses run at that time because Konoha used to complain about how cold it was while waiting for his bus in the mornings. Deciding that it was best to check out, he searched on internet for the place.

_Every day 6:00 am - 10:00 pm._

He turned to see his watch.

 _5:45 am_.

"We can wait fifteen for them to open, it would take us about five minutes to get to Bestbuy," said the younger one before putting his cell phone away, trying to decide what kind of bagel he would want that day.

An egg and bacon bagel didn't sound bad at all.

"Lisa pays because she kept us waiting outside her apartment for ten minutes!" Megumi declared.

"Hey!"

.

"Keiji! Why didn't you tell me that bagels opened at 6:00?" Oikawa asked from the other end of the line.

Keiji pressed the speaker button on his phone and placed it on her bed, then grabbed a shirt and began buttoning it up.

"I honestly didn't remember, I've never had to buy bagels before six in the morning," he said, taking one of his thickest sweaters and putting it on. "You were the one who offered it, I thought you would at least have seen that on the internet."

"Yeah, sure, do I remind you that I tried to go to the science museum on the only day of the year that it was closed?" Oikawa asked. Keiji smirked remembering the disappointment on the Oikawa's face and the anger on his boyfriend's face a year ago when they had tried to visit the museum. "Now I'm here, standing outside the store like an idiot, waiting for them to open. The employees are watching me from inside and laugh!"

"Breath, I'm coming, at least they'll laugh at the two of us," Keiji said as he put on his pants. When he felt that his knee was exposed, he debated between finding a pair that was not distressed or enduring the cold on his knee. When he turned to check the time and thought he would spend three hours in line, he decided he didn't mean to suffer unnecessarily. I'm coming out” he declared changing and beginning his walk to the front door, where he took his coat.

"By the time you get there I'll have bought the bagels," said Oikawa, clearly annoyed.

"At least that way we won't get to line up at 6:30."

"Oh? Now you are more worried than me about arriving early?" Asked the Oikawa, his voice giving away that he was smiling in a way that Keiji usually found unpleasant.

"I need a new TV, I'm tired of having to send everything with Chromecast," explained as he locked the door. "A smartTV wouldn't hurt."

On the other end of the phone Oikawa muttered something like 'About time', causing Keiji to roll his eyes.

.

"Have you seen that boy? He's beautiful!" Lisa tried to whisper, obviously failing, as she received a smile from said boy standing in front of them in line to buy bagels.

"Thank you," the boy answered, making Lisa and Koutarou blush, and Megumi laugh behind her hand.

Koutarou felt his blush quickly subside.

The boy was beautiful. He was tall, almost as tall as he, his build was slim, but from the tightness of his jeans I could see that at least his legs were toned, probably due to hours in the gym. His face, as Lisa had said, was beautiful, the smile he had just given them had reinforced it. He had huge, expressive chocolate eyes, the same color as the waves in his hair, and his face was delicate and pale.

Suddenly he realized something.

Lisa had made the comment in Japanese.

And the boy had answered them in the same language.

Before being able to think more about it, thinking about that his sister had emarassed them in fron of the cute boy, the store opened its doors, so the four of them hurried to go inside, where the warmth of the place protected them from the cold.

"Good Morning! Would you give me a avocado egg salad in a salt bagel, one jalapeño tuna with extra jalapeño in a seven grain one, and two baked salmon ones in onion bagels?"

"Something to drink?"

"Two triple hazelnut lattes and a small black coffee in a triple cup with a triple espresso in it."

The last part of his order made the members of the Bokuto family look at him completely terrified. What kind of monster could drink all that bitter coffee?

Apparently the cashier was also surprised by the last drink.

"Huh?"

"This is what my friend always orders..." the brown haired boy began to say when another young man behind the counter laughed.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of that coffee, Beth," said another young man behind the bar. "Just charge it as a single coffee and a triple espresso. It's Akaashi's usual order."

At that last name, Koutarou couldn't help but notice that the cashier frowned in distaste.

"Your total would be 48.04 dollars, would it be in cash or card?"

"Cash," replied the young man, taking out his wallet. "I can't believe I ordered breakfast for three people and half of what I spent was on a single meal, ”the young man muttered as he handed over his money.

Koutarou couldn't help but imagine a fat man devouring half of the food requested by the cute boy, probably the salmon bagel considering that the boy had ordered two of those.

"Welcome to Bergen Bagels, can I take your order?" Said the cashier once the brown haired man moved to wait for his order at the bar near the checkout.

"Oh. Could you give me an egg, bacon and cheese bagel, with two extra eggs and avocado on a seven grain bagel and a large hot chocolate?" Koutarou asked before stepping aside to let Megumi ask for her order. 

Maybe he shouldn't judge the cute boy's gluttonous friend too much, after all he wasn't someone who ate with moderation.

"For me it would be a light sun dried tomato cream cheese on regular bagel and a large hot chocolate."

"And I would like a strawberry cream cheese bagel on raisin bread and a big hot chocolate," Lisa asked as she pulled out her card. "I will pay with credit."

By the time the siblings went to the waiting area, the cute guy was receiving his order.

As he stared at the brown haired man thinking that he was really cute, the bell at the entrance of the store chimed drawing his attention to the door.

And that's when he saw him.

The most beautiful man he had ever seen.

His skin was a golden color, he was lean and a bit shorter than him, but he was sure that the young man was at least 6 feet. His hair was jet black and it curled lightly at the ends. His face was delicate, a thin nose, thin lips, thick eyebrows and his eyes... Koutarou had never seen eyes like those before, they looked like a mix of blue, green and gray.

He followed the newcomer with his gaze.

And that's when he noticed it.

The boy did not go to the counter, but to where the cute boy was standing, and when he saw him, a huge grin appeared at the brown haired boy's face.

"Akaa-chan!" Exclaimed the brown haired boy, passing his arm around the new commer's shoulders and flushing him to his body. "Hey! Buying you breakfast will bankrupt me! How come you can eat so much?"

Taking into account that the guy had spoken in Japanese again, he assumed that the raven spoke it too.

"It wasn't going to be cheap for you to make me be out of my apartment at 6 in the morning," replied the black-haired man, proving right Koutarou's theory about his language, while he got away from his friends grip and took the drinks. "Did you order my coffee with the three shots of expresso?" he asked.

So the most beautiful man he had ever seen was the same man he had considered a glutton and he also had the inhuman ability to drink strong coffee.

He remembered the words of the guy behind the bar.

So that boy was Akaashi.

"I still don't understand how you take that," replied the brown haired man.

"When you start studying your master's degree, you'll understand," said Akaashi before taking a sip from one of the glasses and sighing. "Should we go now?"

The brown haired mam smiled before taking the bag of bagels and putting his arm around the raven's shoulders again.

"Hey! Guess what! The pretty girl over there said I was beautiful!" exclaimed the guy, without the slightest concern that the other customers would hear him.

To Koutarou's amusement, Lisa tensed upon hearing that.

"Hmm," replied the raven. "And did you tell her you have a boyfriend?"

The brown haired man laughed before opening the door for the raven.

"No, but I think now she knows," replied the boy, giving the three siblings a sideways glance and leaving the place.

Koutarou heard from afar that his order was ready, but his mind was busy thinking about raven who had just left.

Of course those two beautiful boys were a couple, it was impossible that they were single. After all, how could someone not want to be with someone so beautiful?

Even if this Akaashi guy was single, Koutarou didn't think he had a chance.

Despite that, as he walked out of the store with his sisters, he couldn't help but imagine what it would be like to spend an afternoon lost in those eyes that had the color of the sea, caressing that golden skin and ruffling that hair that had the same color of the night.

He sighed as he walked towards the Bestbuy, listening to the animated chat of his sisters.

"Hey, Koutarou, what's wrong?" Lisa asked.

Koutarou sighed again before turning to see his sister.

"I think I fell in love..."

His sisters laughed heartily.

"Those guys were perfect for you, right?" Megumi asked smirking.

"The one with black hair..." Koutarou said, waving his hands. "Did you see him? He so was beautiful! But he has a boyfriend..."

His sisters laughed again.

"Come on, eat your bagel and forget about that boy," Lisa said, passing his food to the man.

"But it's just...!" Koutarou began, unwrapping his food.

"I know, I know..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you think? Have any of you had awkward Thanksgiving dinners?  
> The next chapter happens on Black Friday, so I'll upload it tomorrow (hopefully cuz I'm still translating it). After that I think I'll do an in-between chapter before the Christmas Eve chapter, but I'm not sure.
> 
> As always, kudos and comments are appreciated, any questions, criticisms or comments I will answer with pleasure while I have a hot chocolate ❤
> 
> Take care and see you tomorrow!


	2. Offers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Where are you going? Let's go get my stereo!” Oikawa asked as he walked to the right, heading to the sound systems area.
> 
> Keiji pointed at the TVs at the back of the store.
> 
> "I want one of those before they run out them," the black-haired man declared.
> 
> "I thought you weren't interested in the Black Friday deals!"
> 
> "If I waited 3 hours to get in here, at least I want it to be worth it, and I want a TV."
> 
> "Akaa-chan!"
> 
> "Come on, drop it, we'll catch up with him, OK?" Sugawara intervened as he walked towards where Oikawa was heading. "If you get your TV first, tell me and I'll tell you where we'll be."
> 
> Oikawa snorted before continuing on his way.
> 
> "As soon as you install that television, we will have a movie night in your apartment!" Oikawa exclaimed.
> 
> .
> 
> "Sorry the guy from before took the last one but we still have the other 65-inch model..."
> 
> Koutarou frowned.
> 
> He had passed up the fact that the boy had skipped the line because it was something that the manager had supported.
> 
> But now he had lost the opportunity to have the television he had wanted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter ended being longer that I spected, but I had so much fun writing it that I didn't noticed it.
> 
> And well this chapter happens in Black Friday, actually I'm those kind of people that prefers the Cybermonday, but I have been in some stores' Black Friday madness with friends and I have to accept that Black Friday does have pretty good deals.
> 
> The song that is played in this chapter is Bad Habit from The Kooks
> 
> And well, enjoy! ♥
> 
> [Bad Habit - The Kooks](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGxSsD9xPPU)

"Suga-chan!" Oikawa exclaimed as he approached the growing line of people trying to get into the electronics store in three hours.

"Sugawara-san, good morning," Keiji greeted, extending the cup that still had the seal in the lid that kept the warmth of the coffee.

"How did you wake up, Akaashi? You don't seem like a victim of a hangover, ”the silver-haired young man asked, drinking the coffee, and then holding it in his hands for a while. "Ah my hands were freezing!"

Keiji shook his head.

"That's because Yaku-san and Sawamura-san were in prevented you from drowning me in tequila and made sure I ate a lot," Keiji declared taking the bag of bagels that Oikawa offered him, in which only two of the four remained.

"Come on, you know I was trying to make you feel better," the silver haired one said, taking a bite of his bagel. "Oh! It has extra jalapeño! You are the best Tooru!"

"I don't know if a hangover was the best thing for me."

"You're such a party pooper!"

The three continued eating in silence until each finished their bagel, Keiji turned to look at his watch, only to see that there were still two and a half hours until the doors were open. For a moment he thought if it was best to eat his second bagel right now or wait to a little more. Deciding that it was best to eat it while it was not completely cold, he began to unwrap it.

"What are you planning to buy, Suga-chan?"

"A new computer," the boy replied before taking a sip of his coffee, "Daichi says that if I have everything in Apple I can take advantage of it and have a Mac."

"Do you realize that for that money you could buy a much better laptop without it being an Mac?"

Suga shook his head.

"You won't understand until you start using Apple, right, Akaashi?" Asked the young man.

Keiji shook his head.

"The only reason I have an iPhone is because my parents sent it to me as a gift last year," replied the black-haired man. "I honestly don't care about all that..."

"But for your masters!" Sugawara exclaimed.

"All I need is a word processor, spreadsheets and to be able to do presentations, and it is much cheaper to have that on a Windows computer than a Mac."

Sugawara sighed in defeat.

"By the way! Guess what! A girl said I was beautiful!" Oikawa exclaimed smiling.

Keiji rolled his eyes.

Sugawara smiled as if he were facing a small child, something he probably did a lot considering he was a preschool teacher.

"Oh yeah? Well, in a way it's no surprise, after all you're beautiful" Sugawara said.

"Oh, Suga-chan! Should Iwa-chan and Daichi worry?" Oikawa asked, smirking.

"Oh, in any case the one who should worry would be Akaashi, can you imagine how it would be for him if we were dating?"

Keiji shuddered just thinking about how it would be if Oikawa's lack of personal boundaries was combined with Sugawara's love of watching the world burn. He shook his head quickly, asking all the deities he knew to prevent the two of them from leaving their respective boyfriends.

Both boys laughed heartily.

.

"Koutarou, look!" They are over ther and their friend also looks like an angel!" Lisa exclaimed pointing to the boys that were a few meters away from them.

"Wow, it's true that people look for their equals, I've never seen so many beautiful people together," Megumi muttered taking a bite of her bagel. "Except in movies..."

Koutarou sighed.

If this Akaashi were single, it would have seemed like fate for them to meet again at the store. Although perhaps it was logical that they were in that store, after all Bergen Bagels was one of the breakfast places that opened the earliest, their food was fast and practical, and it was the closest to that Bestbuy, which was one of the stores that everyone visited on Black Friday.

"I think one of us would have a chance with the one with gray hair," said Lisa smiling. "If he is here with a coupe, it is because he is single, right?"

Meguimi smirked before taking the last bite of her bagel.

"I thought you weren't worried about finding a guy?"

"But they are beautiful!"

Koutarou laughed deciding to stop thinking about the black haired boy.

"In the end, what will you buy, Megumi?" Asked the youngest.

The older one sighed.

"Javier wants a new TV since yesterday you said you would buy a new one," answered the older one. "But I'm thinking in one of those robotic bassinets... the ones that you push a button and it starts rocking the baby."

"Megumi! Little Lisa is not born yet and you want the machines to take care of her!" Lisa exclaimed pretending to be concerned.

Megumi rolled her eyes.

"We don't even know the baby's gender, and if it's a girl I won't name her Lisa," the girl declared.

"What's wrong with my name?"

Koutarou laughed.

"Have you seen yourself in the mirror?" There was a punch in his shoulder. "Do you realize that you're just proving my point?"

Lisa turned her back on her siblings, muttering something to the fact that evey girl should aspire to be a strong and idependent woman like her, and that they should respect her for the fact that she was the first and only doctor in the family.

Koutarou and Megumi shared a smile and laughed, further annoying the middle child of the Bokuto family.

.

"Remember that when you see a product that you cannot place in your cart, you must ask for a number and with this you can claim it in the registers," said the girl at the entrance, handing him a cart.

"Thank you," replied the black-haired man, following his two friends who had already entered the place.

Deciding that it was probably best to go quickly to the TVs area, before the TVs with good deals got sold out, he headed to where there was a huge sign that read. _"Doorbuster! One per person!"_

"Where are you going? Let's go get my stereo!” Oikawa asked as he walked to the right, heading to the sound systems area.

Keiji pointed at the TVs at the back of the store.

"I want one of those before they run out them," the black-haired man declared.

"I thought you weren't interested in the Black Friday deals!"

"If I waited 3 hours to get in here, at least I want it to be worth it, and I want a TV."

"Akaa-chan!"

"Come on, drop it, we'll catch up with him, OK?" Sugawara intervened as he walked towards where Oikawa was heading. "If you get your TV first, tell me and I'll tell you where we'll be."

Oikawa snorted before continuing on his way.

"As soon as you install that television, we will have a movie night in your apartment!" Oikawa exclaimed.

Keiji laughed before continuing on his way.

When he found himself near the sign, he saw two different lines. One for some Samsung TVs and one for LG TVs. He decided that the line for LG TVs looked shorter than the line for Samsungs.

The line was moving quite fast, so he did not take out his cell phone, distract himself by observing the people around him.

Immediately a young man with gray hair caught his eye. He was in the line of Samsung televisions, so Keiji could see him without being noticed. The young man was what Keiji could describe as striking. His hair was mostly gray, although I could see some dark locks in it. His eyes were large and golden, and his brows were thick and expressive. And his body. Keiji was tall, been 6' 1", but he was sure that if he stood next to that boy, he would easily be a forehead taller than him. His back was broad and despite wearing a thick jacket, I could see his arms tightening the fabric. It was obvious that this young man decided sped a lot of time in the gym, at least his arms and back made that clear. He couldn't know if that was the case with his legs, since the shopping cart prevented him from seeing more, he hoped that he would spend the same time on his leg routine, after all it was a sad thing to see men who were only attractive from the waist up .

Keiji moved forward a couple more spaces, getting close to the gray haired man, so he decided to stop looking at him to avoid being caught. As the row of Samsung TVs got shorter, the lower half of the man was visible to him.

The boy's thigh muscles stretched the fabric of the joggers he wore.

That boy had a perfect body and had a very attractive face.

There was no point in getting any illusions, he was obviously straight.

And a guy so attractive could not be single.

He returned his attention to the line when a girl skipped the line and put her cart in front of him. The discontent of the people behind him was immediate, and the store clerk obviously decided to ignore it. Keiji just rolled his eyes, there was no point in being upset by that, after all it was not like the girl was going to take the last TV, there were many in that small television tower next to him.

A few minutes later the girl received a ticket, she gave a flirtatious smile to the clerk and a mocking smile to Keiji, who found it strange since because he had decided not to make a fuss, the girl had gotten the TV. He took a couple of steps forward until he was facing the clerk.

"I would like a QN65 please" Keiji asked, pointing to the box at his left.

The clerk smiled in a mocking way.

"The blonde over there took the last one," replied the young man, "we still have 75NANO's, it's a bit more expensive..."

Keiji frowned, that television was five times more expensive than the television he had wanted.

When he was about to say that he would look for something else, another clerk, who seemed to be supervising those in charge of the TVs, intervened.

"If you want I can get you to the Samsung line, they have a similar model to the one you asked," the man said smiling. "After all, if Richard hadn't let the girl in, you would have gotten the TV..."

Keiji hesitated for a moment.

If he accepted the offer, he would do the same thing that had been done to him to those in the Samsung line. On the other hand, he had waited three hours for a television.

"OK" was the only thing he answered before moving to the line next to him, behind the clerk.

"Take care of the boy, OK?" the manager said of the Samsung TVs clerk.

"Hey!" Complained the man that now was behind him. Keiji turned to apologize, meeting the golden gaze of the boy he had previously been admiring.

"I'm sorry," he said before turning to look at the clerk, not wanting to hold his gaze with those intense golden eyes that seemed to pierce his head, even though Keiji had already turned his head. "Can I get the 65-inch model?"

"Q80T or LSO3?" asked the young man, checking the remaining tickets.

"Ah, the Q80T," he replied without really knowing the difference between one and the other, the price being one hundred dollars more than the other.

"Yes" the man replied before giving Keiji a ticket.

.

"I also want a Q80T," Koutarou said trying to forget the fact that this Akaashi guy was even more handsome up close than a few meters away. Despite having been a few inches from him, he had not been able to decipher the color of his eyes, although it was probably due to the lights of the place.

"Sorry the guy from before took the last one but we still have the other 65-inch model..."

Koutarou frowned.

He had passed up the fact that the boy had skipped the line because it was something that the manager had supported.

But now he had lost the opportunity to have the television he had wanted.

"It's alright," Koutarou muttered without much encouragement.

When he had his ticket in hand, he began to walk in search of his sisters, when suddenly a stern voice called him.

"Hey!"

Koutarou turned around, meeting up with the cute boy from a few minutes ago.

He felt his hands start to sweat, what would the boy want? Had he realized that hee had been watching him the entire time they stood in line to enter the store? Damn Lisa and her lack of volume control.

The fact that the young man's face didn't show any kind of emotion didn't help calm his nerves.

He couldn't think more of it since the boy was now in front of him handing him a ticket.

"Huh?"

The boy looked down, stretching out the arm that was holding the ticket.

"I'm sorry, I heard that I took the last TV that you were looking for," said the black-haired man, bowing a little. "If you want, I can give you the TV ticket and you can give me yours..."

Koutarou quickly shook his head.

"Huh? No!'' He exclaimed a little louder than he would have liked, making the black-haired man look up, clearly puzzled and embarrassed.

"I'm sorry, I didn't think..." the boy began without withdrawing his arm.

Koutarou wished that he could punch himself. He had a chance to talk to the cute boy and all he had done was make him uncomfortable.

"I don't mean you don't have to do that!" Explained the grayhaired one, raising his hands and waving them frantically. "It's Black Friday! It is logical that not everyone will get the deals that one would like...!"

Akaashi shook his head.

"Actually, I wasn't looking for a Samsung television, I just wanted the 65-inch size," the black-haired man interrupted. "I said that I wanted the Q80T only because it was the first that the man offered, really for me it isn't a problem..."

Koutarou bit his indecisive lip.

Akaashi was offering him the TV that he really wanted, he had even explained that for him there was no difference between one and the other.

He could even use that to his advantage.

"Okay, but you should let me pay you somehow," Koutarou declared, extending his own ticket.

The black haired youth smiled slightly once the tickets had been exchanged, causing the Koutarou's heart to skip a beat.

Akaashi had a beautiful smile.

"Sure, thanks."

"Sure, A ..." the young man began before shutting up instantly. He couldn't call him by his name, after all there was no reason for him to know. Even if he explained why he knew, he would probably freak out. "Ah... What's your name?"

The raven tucked the ticket into his jeans before returning his gaze to Koutarou.

"Akaashi Keiji, and yours?"

Koutarou smiled and held out his hand.

"Bokuto Koutarou," he replied as he shook Akaashi's hand, noticing how his eyes widened in surprise. "Does it surprise you that my name is Japanese?" Koutarou asked, deciding to continue speaking English, after all he didn't want to have to explain why he knew that Akaashi spoke Japanese.

"A little," replied the young man, "you don't look like... japanese..."

"Niether you ..."

Akaashi shrugged.

"And several of my friends, although I am a bit surprised to meet someone like us by chance," the young man muttered, apparently more to himself than to Koutarou. "It's a curious coincidence" he finally said.

Koutarou laughed heartily.

Akaashi was interesting.

"So, about making it up to you ... would you accept a coffee?" Koutarou asked smiling. He knew it was wrong to chase after someone who already had a boyfriend, but the coffee offer was innocent enough that Akaashi wouldn't feel uncomfortable. Beyond the boy being attractive, he seemed to be a nice person, the time he had seen him talk with his friends had led him to deduce that. Also, if Akaashi felt uncomfortable with the invitation just because he had a boyfriend, he could always decline it.

Keiji bit his lip for a moment before answering, clearly undecided.

"Sure," Akaashi finally answered.

"Hey, don't worry, if you don't feel comfortable, you don't have to," Koutarou said quickly. "I don't want to bring you problems with your b... partner! I mean that...! If you came with someone else, I don't want you to have to ditch them so you can have coffee with me!"

He was proud to have corrected his sentence before finishing it. After all, how could he explain that he knew he had a boyfriend?

Keiji smiled slightly before shaking his head.

"I don't have a partner, nor do I think it will bother my friends that I have a coffee with someone other than them," said the raven blushing slightly.

Friends?

So the cute guy was just his friend?

Was he that lucky?

He scanned the raven's face for a second, trying to decide if the boy was lying or not, but despite his stoic face, Akaashi's eyes didn't seem to hide an ulterior motive.

"Well, Akaashi, how about we pay this and so I buy you that coffee? I don't think my sisters will finish their shopping anytime soon.” He said deciding to call him by his last name, taking into account that his friend from the bagels shop had called him Akaa-chan, that the man from the counter had called him Akaashi, and that he had introduced himself first with his last name.

The raven bit his lip.

"I'm sorry, but I told my friends that I would catch up with them when I got the TV..." explained Akaashi starting to fidget with his fingers. "Would it be too much trouble if we had thar coffee later?"

Koutarou smiled before waving his hand, indicating that it was not a problem.

"No problem, I have practically the whole day off," said the one with gray hair. "I'll give you my number and when you want that coffee shoot me a text, OK?" Akaashi nodded before pulling out his phone and handing it to Koutarou. "You trust to easily, don't you think? As far as you know, I could steal your cute iPhone," he joked taking the phone.

"I doubt that someone who is about to buy a 1K TV is going to try to steal a phone from last year, Bokuto-san," Akaashi replied smiling. Koutarou smirked upon hearing the "san", something that did not go unnoticed by Akaashi. "Oh, I'm sorry. I'm used to use it because my friends, well they..." the raven began to say.

"Don't worry, I just thought it was kinda funny, I hadn't heard someone use honorifics for a long time," Koutarou explained, deciding to say that instead of explaining that he was amused that it was so formal. "So is it easier for you to speak in Japanese?" he asked switching to his home language.

Keiji smirked and nodded.

.

When he found Sugawara and Oikawa, they were both still in line to get a Macbook.

"Akaashi! Did you get the TV?" Sugawara asked smiling.

"Yes," he replied showing the ticket he had exchanged with Bokuto.

"Huh? Why do you look so flushed?" asked the one with silver hair, causing the heat of Keiji's cheeks to increase and Oikawa's gaze to detach from his cell phone.

Keiji sighed, he had planned to tell them about Bokuto later, but he could as well take advantage of the fact that his friends were busy with offers at that time and distract them from asking uncomfortable questions.

"I think I have a... coffee date?"

The eyes of his friends went wide.

"Huh?"

"What?"

"Right after Mike broke up with you?"

"He is handsome?"

"How?"

"You accepted?"

"Good for you!"

"How is he?"

Keiji felt dizzy trying to follow up his friend's questions, so he raised a hand in front of him, asking them to stop for a moment.

"His name is Bokuto Koutarou, I accidentally took the last TV of the model he was looking for, so I offered to exchange it, because I didn't really care about the model. He only agreed to the exchange them if I accepted a coffee" explained the raven under the watchful eye of his friends.

"Bokuto Koutarou? Is it Japanese?'' Sugawara asked.

Keiji nodded.

"His accent is just like yours, Sugawara-san," Keiji replied, remembering the slight cadence in the words that Koutarou had spoken in Japanese. "I suppose he only speaks Japanese at home..."

His friends nodded.

"And when are you going to get that coffee?" Oikawa asked smiling from side to side before the three of them advanced in line.

"He gave me his number to let me know when he was free," Keiji answered.

"Huh? Why didn't you tell him that you were free right now?" asked his friends in unison.

"You know it's really creepy when you do that?" Keiji asked, making his friends frown. "Because I need to pick up the TV and leave it in the apartment" he answered crossing her arms.

"Oh!"

"By the way, how will we carry our stuff?" Keijj asked, raising an eyebrow. Although he was the one with the biggest purchase, Oikawa would have trouble taking that stereo to his house and he doubted Sugawara would want to take the subway with such an expensive computer.

"Oh! Iwa-chan said he would pick me up! He will bring his truck! I just have to call him when we go to pay" Oikawa replied.

"But we're diverting from what's important," the silver haired boy intervened before smiling in way that made Akaashi tremble in fear. "So when are you going to date that Bokuto Koutarou?"

Keiji frowned trying to calculate a good time for it.

"I suppose it will have to be after six. It will take a while to get out of here, I suppose you will want to set up the television and watch at least one movie..." Keiji said.

"Also if we will be in your apartment we can eat from the Greek restaurant below!" Sugawara exclaimed.

Keiji rolled his eyes. He knew his friend loved that restaurant and that Oikawa loved more the fact that the owners gave him discounts all the time.

"Besides that gives us time to get Keiji ready for his date," Oikawa declared smiling from side to side.

Suddenly Sugawara's face scrunched in concern.

"Don't you think it's too early? After all, you just broke up with Mike yesterday..."

Keiji frowned.

It is true that Bokuto was really attractive, but despite that, he was not looking for something romantic in him, much less sexual, especially after the fiasco of the day before with Mike.

He didn't even know if Bokuto was gay.

Maybe he should tell Bokuto that he had thought well about his offer and that thought it was better not to see each other?

"Come on Suga-chan! Let him live a little! No one is saying they will be dating! It's just a coffee date!" Oikawa exclaimed, snapping him out of his thoughts. "Also, meeting someone outside of our circle and school will do you good."

Sugawara shrugged.

"I suppose it's true, it will be good for you to meet new people," the silver haired boy declared before smiling mischievously. "Also, it will be fun to choose your outfit."

Keiji sighed in defeat at just thinking how tiring it would be for Oikawa and Sugawara to choose his clothes.

.

"Sorry about that" Megumi muttered, sitting in the passenger seat of the uberXL they had requested.

The driver grunted in response.

Koutarou couldn't blame him, after all they had just spent almost half an hour arranging the stuff they had bought in the trunk and seats of the car, the result of which was that Koutarou sat with a new mixer between his arms and a microwave between his legs. Half of two boxes of their new TVs separated him from Lisa, who carried an automatic rocking bassinet on her lap and a stereo under her legs. Megumi only carried Lisa's computer on her lap.

Having decided that they should go to the closest apartment, the driver was going take them to where Koutarou lived, about fifteen minutes from the store. It would be a bit difficult to get the TVs to his apartment, but he was sure that with Lisa's help it wouldn't be impossible.

By the time all their stuff was in Koutarou's apartment, he and Lisa were exhausted, unlike Megumi who was currently preparing sandwiches in the kitchen counter.

"Kou, mom would have a heart attack if she knew how empty is your fridge" declared the older sibling before handing them a plate with two cheese and tomato sandwiches to them. "You didn't even have onions..."

The youngest scratched his temple avoiding his sister's gaze.

"I've been so busy that I haven't had time to do the groceries," the young man explained. And it was true, he and Kuroo had had a period of inspiration last week, where all they had done was compose and buy takeout.

The women exchanged a worried look before sighing.

"By the way, what time should you go, Megumi?" Lisa asked before taking a bite of her food.

"In about twenty minutes, if I want to get to class on time," answered the older one. "By the way, Javier will go through things before returning home, around six."

"Probably at that time I'll have already left to go to the bar, but no problem, can you give him your extra key?"

"Yes, I'll tell him to come to school to grab it."

They continued talking about what they had bought, until at one point Megumi's face showed a mocking smile.

"By the way, Kou, I saw you were talking to the cute bagel boy," the older one blurted out, making Koutarou tense and Lisa's eyes widened.

"Megumi!"

"Huh? With which one?" Lisa exclaimed taking the youngest's shoulders.

"The one with black hair," answered the older one.

"Huh? How?"

"Megumi!"

The older one laughed heartily.

"You should have seen him Lisa! Kou came out of the line pouting, then the boy with black hair called out to him and offered him his ticket! And then Kou said something that was obviously stupid because they both blushed!"

Koutarou knew had the same shade of red that the tomato in his sandwich.

Once the laughter from his sisters started to die down, Koutarou crossed his arms.

"But what you don't know is that he agreed to go for a coffee!" Koutarou declared before sticking his tongue out at his sister.

"Oh, really? I saw that he gave you his phone, I assumed you gave him your number, but I did not think it was because you got a coffee date" said the older one.

Lisa was the one who raised her hands, to ask for a moment.

"Wait! Wait! Wait! And his boyfriend?" asked the young woman.

Koutarou scratched his temple smiling.

"He doesn't have a boyfriend, when I asked him for coffee at that moment he said he had to catch up with his friends when he got TV," Koutarou explained, deciding to ignore the moment when he almost missed saying something about his boyfriend. He didn't want his sisters to think he was desperate.

Because it wasn't.

Not even a little.

Suddenly his phone vibrated with the notification of a message.

_"Unknown number"_

Koutarou tried to prevent his sisters from paying attention to the message, but feeling the attentive gazes of both on him, he knew that he had failed.

_"Good morning, Bokuto-san. Would you like to go get that coffee at 7?"_

"What do you do? This is no time for you to be interesting! Text him back!" Lisa exclaimed before trying to take the cell phone from Koutarou's hands.

Koutaro put the cell phone away with a frown.

"At that time we will be starting the sound check," he murmured without taking his eyes off the text.

"Even better! Invite him! He will definitely fall for you!" Megumi exclaimed smiling while clapping her hands.

"A date at a live is much better than one in a cafe!"

"Are you crazy? I asked him out for a coffee! I don't want him to think I'm trying too hard!" Koutarou exclaimed, starting to write if it wouldn't be better for him to go for coffee the next day, since he was busy that day.

The two sisters exchanged a look that made Koutarou shiver.

.

_"Akaashi! You see... today I will be at a live neat the Middle Village! And at 7 I will have a sound check!"_

_"How about we change that coffee for you to come to the live? I'll leave a ticket for you at the entrance!"_

Keiji chuckled seeing that Bokuto's expressions were conveyed in his messages.

"Oh! Someone is trying to impress you!'' crooned Oikawa, who was lying on the couch, head resting on his boyfriend's lap.

"Whas this his plan all this time?" Sugawara asked taking Keiji's phone, which Oikawa was offering him.

"I doubt it considering that his original plan was for us to go to grab coffee in the morning," Keiji answered, extending his hand to retrieve his phone.

"Do you want us to give you a ride?" Iwaizumi asked, looking up from his own phone. "We wouldn't have to make a huge detour to leave you there."

Keiji bit his lip, wondering what he should do.

He had set his mind when he had accepeted Bokuto's offer at the store, he had the idea of being able to spend a while talking with Bokuto and know a little more about him, and the plan that the young man had proposed seemed to be the exact opposite. He would hang around watching him, but probably wouldn't be able talk to him.

Another message brought him out of his thoughts.

_"If you want you can come at 7, the sound check will be quick and I can buy you a beer."_

Keiji frowned, again. The offer was tempting. Without saying anything, he gave his cell phone to Oikawa.

"Oh my! Bokuto's game is a strong one" exclaimed the brown haired boy. When Keiji noticed that he was writing, Oikawa tried to hide the phone, avoiding for a moment Akaashi's hand trying to took it from him.

"Don't be an ass, Shitykawa" Iwaizumi ordered, taking the phone from Oikawa.

"It doesn't matter, I already answered him."

_"I'll be there! But you'll still owe me that coffee!"_

Keiji felt his cheeks turn red.

Everything in that message was wrong, the enthusiasm, the exclamation points, the asking for the coffee.

"Oikawa-san..."

Sugawara leaned over his shoulder to see the message written by the Oikawa, chuckling slightly when he saw the text.

"Well, at least that way you won't think he's the only one excited."

_"Sure! I would be offended if not!"_

Keiji grunted before handing the cell phone to the silver haired man, who after reading it and laughing passed the phone to Oikawa, who laughed happily at the conversation.

Iwaizumi read the conversation before shrugging.

"Ask him to send you the location of the bar," he ordered, returning his phone to Keiji.

After a few moments, his cell phone rang again, announcing the arrival of a new text.

_"Yer Man's Irish Pub, where they cross 88th Street and Aubrey Avenue"_

Suga nodded when he saw the address.

"I've been to that bar! The hot wings are quite good!" exclaimed the young man smiling.

.

"Who are you waiting for?" Kuroo asked, leaving his bass in its case. "Do not try to pretend that you are not waiting for someone, you have not stopped looking at the door and the show will start in two hours."

"Also, I saw you leave a ticket at the entrance," Tsukishima added, getting up from his place, twirling the drumsticks between his fingers.

Koutarou sighed.

"A guy, I was going to buy him a coffee but he was busy until this now so I invited him to come see us do the sound check and see us," Koutarou replied, deciding to omit the fact that the whole conversation had happened between Akaashi and his sisters.

Kuroo arched an eyebrow before smiling in a way that did not give the gray haired man a good feeling.

"So, today we should play like better than ever before?" asked the black haired man.

"We've always played well," Koutarou muttered.

"Yes, but never for someone you like," replied his friend. "Is he cute?"

Koutarou put his guitar in it's case. The sound check had been pretty quick, the venue had good acoustics, so they didn't end up making a lot of check ups. In a way he felt that it was a shame that Akaashi had not seen him at the sound check, but on the other hand that would make the first time he heard them be while he was playing seriously. He had assumed Akaashi would arrive at 7:00, but now it was 7:30 and there wasn't any sign of the sea-eyed boy.

Maybe he had a second thought?

Did he thought it was pathetic trying to impress him by inviting him to see him play?

Suddenly, the doors slid open, letting in a rather hurried Akaashi.

Without thinking it twice he ran to the entrance, and by the time he was with Akaashi, he was already taking out his wallet.

"Akaashi! I told you I would leave you a ticket here!" Koutarou exclaimed placing his hand on the young man's shoulder, who turned to see him surprised. The Koutarou smiled at the woman in the entrance. "Could you give him the ticket I left you for him, Maggie?"

"Oh so he's Akaashi!" The girl exclaimed before taking a small yellow paper and handing it to Akaashi, who accepted it with a small bow.

"Come! Let me buy you a beer!" Koutarou exclaimed placing a hand on the black-haired man's shoulder and thus guiding him to the bar, where a man that was starting to get bald raised an eyebrow, his way of asking them what they wanted. "Do you want something in specific?"

Akaashi shrugged.

"IPA?" Akaashi asked turning to see the man at the bar and then at Koutarou.

"New England?" The bar man asked, receiving a nod from Akaashi. "For you?"

"The same" said Koutarou thinking that it was best not to drink too much, he didn't want to be embarrassed on stage and less with Akaashi having come to see him. Once the drinks were in front of them, he turned to the raven-haired young man and smiled. "So, busy day?"

.

Keiji laughed at the simplicity of Bokuto's comment.

"Much busier than my day off should have been," he replied before taking his beer and taking a sip from eat, enjoying the slight bitter taste of the beer.

"Oh yeah? Why?” The golden eyed young man asked before standing up and taking his jar. "Wait, wanna join me in a more comfortable booth?" Keiji smiled as he nodded and got up from the stool, then followed Bokuto to a somewhat secluded booth at the back of the bar, near the stage. "So why did your day turn out to be busier than it should?"

Bokuto's golden eyes seemed to shine despite the terrible light of the place.

"Let's start with the fact that my friend called me at 5:30 in the morning to ask me to join him to Bestbuy," replied the black-haired man. "Which is two hours before the time I usually wake up on a work day."

"Huh? So I think they must have bribed you with something? Especially considering that you don't seem like someone who wakes up early” Bokuto said before taking a sip of his beer.

Keiji smirked before nodding.

"He bought me breakfast," he replied, remembering the two salmon bagels that Oikawa had given him. "After that my day was probably very similar to yours, Bokuto-san. Line up outside Bestbuy for hours to get a TV."

Bokuto laughed loudly.

"I guess so, although I don't think your day included dealing with two older sisters whose favorite activity is teasing you," Bokuto replied, taking another sip of his beer.

"No, it included dealing with two friends whose favorite activity is teasing me," Keiji said feeling a bit guilty for saying that, after all Sugawara, Oikawa and Iwaizumi had spent almost an hour helping him choose him what to wear, and Iwaizumi had even given him a ride to the bar. "Although I really appreciate everything they do for me” he added, feeling his lips curve slightly upward.

Koutarou opened his eyes immediately, as if for a moment he was worried.

"Don't get me wrong! I love my sisters! And I love spending time with them!'' declared the Bokuto.

Keiji let a laugh escape his chest.

"Don't worry, Bokuto-san, I understand what you mean," the raven declared trying to calm the concern of the young man in front of him. "So do you have two sisters?"

"Yes, they are older tha me. One is an architecture teacher at New York University and the other is a public accountant."

Keiji nodded, processing the information Bokuto had given him.

"And you, Bokuto-san? What do you do?" Asked the black-haired man before thinking about it. "Don't think I'm wanting to be nosy...!"

Bokuto's laugh silenced him.

"Don't worry, I work making music in an marketing agency, and well I'm part of the band..." replied the man with the golden eyes.

So Bokuto Koutarou's life revolved around music.

Just as his revolved around writing.

"What about you?" Bokuto asked and then took a long drink of his beer, leaving his mug empty.

"I work for the Post, covering literary events and everything they need to," Keiji replied. "And I'm studying a master's degree in journalism."

Bokuto whistled clearly amused.

"Wow, so you're like very smart!"

Keiji was grateful that the darkness of the place hid the color of his cheeks.

.

He almost cursed at the moment when Kuroo went looking for him because they had five minutes before the show started, but when he felt the weight of his guitar in his arms he smiled. Just as his sisters had said, that was his chance to impress him.

"Hey! Goodnight! We are Just a Band!" Kuroo yelled into his microphone.

Tsukishima struck his drumsticks against each other, counting down. On the third blow he closed his eyes. In the fourth one he opened them.

It was then that Koutarou let his body do what it did best.

 _"Oh oh oh. Oh oh oh. Oh oh oh. Oh oh oh"_ Kuroo and Tsukishima sang in unison as Kuroo and Koutarou started clapping their hands, setting the rhythm.

 _"Baby, got your head down. Baby, got your head down to the ground"_ Koutarou sang, scanning the place. There were quite a few people, but not many were paying attention to them, which was normal, it was Friday night after all and people used to go to that bar to grab a drink while listening some live music, not specially for the guest bands. _"Looking for a strager. Looking for a stranger to love."_

He turned to see the people in front of them, seeing that Akaashi had positioned himself right in the center, ocean like-eyes fixed on him.

 _"You gotta to touch your eyes and crush your teeth. You gotta let go, come with me"_ he continued singing while listening to a female voice, which he knew very well, sing in the audience. When he found the culprit, he smiled as he saw Lisa grinning from side to side. _"Looking for a stranger. Looking for a stranger to love."_

When Tsukishima's drumsticks hit louder, Koutarou let his fingers begin to scratch the strings of his guitar.

 _"You say you want it, but you can't get it in."_ Koutarou felt a certain pride seeing Akaashi's look of astonishment. _"You got yourself a bad habit for it."_

.

"Akaashi!" Bokuto yelled as he ran towards him, who was at the bar waiting for the man behind the counter to pay attention to him. "What do you think about the show?"

"I really liked it, I really enjoyed the fourth song" Keiji replied trying to hum the song.

"Oh! Gap!" Bokuto exclaimed, smiling. "I wrote that one on my own."

"It was really good," Keiji praised, thinking that he had also liked the first song a lot, but that he hadn't enjoyed it so much due to the initial surprise that Bokuto looked so natural singing and playing the guitar.

"You looked surprised, did you have so little faith in me?" Asked the guitarist smiling.

Keiji shook his head.

"I didn't think you were going to be bad considering that you are a musician" replied the black haired man, "I just didn't think I was going to like it so much."

Bokuto's eyes seemed to shine.

"I'm glad to hear that."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Actually the Bestbuy dynamic of this chapter is based in the story my friend told me about how she got her TV on a Black Friday, in her experience Bestbuy was well organized and all. When I went to a Walmart in Black Friday it was an absolute hell.
> 
> But, what did you think?  
> Like always, kudos and comments are soo appreciated. And if you have any kind of question or comment, wel.. down here is a box so you wan write it!
> 
> Like I said before, this story will be updated in the respective holidays that will take place in the fic. So, the next chapter will be up on the day of Christmas Eve. Maybe I'll post a in between chapter, but I'm not really sure.
> 
> Take care! ♥


	3. Cancellations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _"Good morning, Bokuto-san."_
> 
> A smile appeared on the gray-haired man's face.
> 
> "Akaashi! Good Morning! How are you?"
> 
> _"I'm fine, I hope you are too."_
> 
> "I'm fine too, and hangover-free by the way."
> 
> _"I'm glad, even though you didn't actually drink so much that a hangover was something to worry about ..."_
> 
> Koutarou laughed somewhat embarrassed.
> 
> "Usually after a presentation, I end up hungover..."
> 
> .
> 
> "I guess you'll be pretty busy this time, right?" Asked the gray haired one, getting up from the couch and walking to the door.
> 
> "I think so, besides my finals will begin soon..." he murmured, taking a gray scarf and wrapping it around his neck.
> 
> "You just have to make space in your calendar so we can meet at Christmas, okay?" Oikawa asked from the couch.
> 
> Keiji chuckled slightly before nodding.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, this chapter was supposed to be the beginning of the Christmas Eve chapter, but when I was checking the chapter I felt like it seemed a little too much, that it didn't fit he chapter. So I separated it to make it a type of interlude before the real mess of this story begins.
> 
> Also, I might be a little late with the December chapters of the story because guess who got Covid-19! There was an outbreak at my job and I got sick , but I got lucky and it wasn't too severe, I'm just like super tired all the time. And working from home while been tired is horrible , I have had a lot of problems writing because of that. I hope I finish the December chapters on time but I can't make promises.
> 
> And well, I have nothing more to say, other than... I hope you enjoy this chapter that I felt it's a little short.

Koutarou woke up smiling.

The night before had been a really good one.

They had performed better than usual, many people had been watching them and Akaashi had come to see him. He had even let Koutarou buy him a couple of beers. Maybe it had turned out very different from his original plan to buy him coffee, but he was pretty happy with the result.

He reached his hand to the nightstand next to his bed, touching the surface until he felt his phone. Once he had firmly grasped it, he brought it to his face, checking that he could stay in bed for a few more minutes. After all he was going to meet Akaashi at 12:00 and it would only take him about fifteen minutes to get to the place.

The notification of a series of messages in the group chat that he shared with his sisters made him roll his eyes. He knew something like this would happen from the moment he had received that wink from Lisa when he was with Akaashi at the bar.

_Stupid Doctor: "Koutarou was talking to him!"_

_Stupid Doctor: "He looked so cute!"_

_Stupid Doctor: "He didn't take his eyes off him!"_

_Megumi: "Tell me you didn't interrupt them!"_

_Stupid Doctor: "Of course not! Who do you think that I am?"_

_Megumi: "On the first date I had with Javier you and Kou went to spy on me."_

_Stupid Doctor: "That was years ago! Forget it already!"_

_Megumi: "Kou! We need details!"_

_Stupid Doctor: "Are you brining him to dinner at Christmas Eve?"_

_Stupid Doctor: "Say yes! I want to see Mom and Aunt Makoto try to pretend to be nice!"_

_Megumi: "Isn't it a bit early for that?"_

_Stupid Doctor: "They would have been dating for almost a month!"_

Koutarou rolled his eyes at his sisters' conversation.

_"We just talk!"_

_"Just that!"_

Lisa's response was immediate.

_Stupid Doctor: "Liar! I heard you talk about seeing him today!"_

_Megumi: "Speak up! Javier and I need details!"_

Of course Megumi had told her husband everything as soon as she had the chance.

_"I'll pay you the coffee I owed him"_

_"Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get ready"_

The two rings announcing the answers of his sisters did not wait.

_Megumi: "Good luck!"_

_Stupid Doctor: "Go get him, tiger!"_

Koutarou smiled as he put his cell phone back on the nightstand and got up from his bed. He walked to the window, observing the usual fuss of the street. The liquor store was still closed, but judging by the time, they would be opening soon, probably if he kept looking out the window he would see the owner open the entrance gate, and then hastily sweep the entrance before the few morning customers of the store arrived.

The ringtone of his phone rang in the room, snapping Koutarou out of his thoughts. Without even looking at the device, he answered the call.

"Hi?"

_"Good morning, Bokuto-san."_

A smile appeared on the gray-haired man's face.

"Akaashi! Good Morning! How are you?"

_"I'm fine, I hope you are too."_

"I'm fine too, and hangover-free by the way."

_"I'm glad, even though you didn't actually drink so much that a hangover was something to worry about ..."_

Koutarou laughed somewhat embarrassed.

"Usually after a presentation, I end up hungover..."

"Hmm ..." was the only reply from his interlocutor, although based on the night before, he was sure that a mocking smirk had appeared on the young man's face.

They remained silent for a few moments, creating little by little an awkwardness that Koutarou wasn't sure he knew from where it was coming from. After all they had a great time last night, didn't they?

"Akaashi..."

_"Bokuto-san..."_

The two fell silent after having spoken at the same time.

_"Sorry I didn't..."_

"Don't you worry, what were you saying?"

He listened as the raven on the other end of the line sighed.

_"Sorry, but I'll have to cancel today's coffee..."_

Koutarou felt like a bucket of cold water fell on him.

"Huh? Why?" He asked trying to sound as calm as at the beginning of the conversation, after all there was nothing to worry about, they would only need to reschedule that coffee. He heard a murmur on the other end of the line, as if Akaashi had answered more to himself than to Koutarou. "Huh? I'm sorry, but I couldn't hear you."

_"I'm sorry, I had a problem with my earbuds,"_ Akaashi apologized. _"I'm sorry, but I won't have time."_

Koutarou frowned, what could keep him busy on a Saturday noon?

"Oh, I understand. Would you like to meet tomorrow?" Asked the gray haired man trying to keep his spirits up.

A sigh on the other end of the line gave him an answer before Akaashi actually spoke.

_"I'm really sorry, Bokuto-san. But I don't think we're going to be able to meet for that coffee,”_ Akaashi replied with a voice that made Koutarou believe every word.

"Don't worry, the coffee I owe you doesn't have an expiration date, when you want me to pay for it, just shoot me a text" declared the musician, wishing to have a chance to meet again the black haired man.

A slight laugh rang out in his ear.

_"I don't want to keep you waiting, but thank you, Bokuto-san,"_ the journalist declared. _"Have a good day. And beware of the cold, they say it will snow soon"._

Koutarou smiled somewhat defeated.

"Thanks, Akaashi, I'll wear a scarf," he declared before separating his phone from his ear, and after a few moments, putting the microphone back near to his mouth. "Akaashi?"

_"Huh? Yes?"_

"I mean it, whenever you tell me, I'll buy you that coffee," he declared before letting a smile cover his face, Akaashi's laugh on the other end of the line made it impossible for him to feel really bad about his failed attempt to see the journalist. "See you Akaashi, I hope you too are careful with the cold."

Akaashi's light laugh enveloped his mind him again.

"Don't worry, I'll wear a scarf and also a knitted beanie."

It was Koutarou's turn to laugh.

"I was thinking of something like another sweater, your sweaters seem to be big enough that you can wear another pair of sweaters underneath them."

_"That's the point Bokuto-san."_

They were both silent for a few moments, and Koutarou couldn't help delaying the undeniable goodbyes for a little longer.

_"I let you continue with your day, goodbye."_

"Bye, Akaashi," Koutarou said looking at the screen of his phone, which after a few moments showed the final duration of the call.

He sighed a little frustrated, he understood that Akaashi was busy and they couldn't meet for that coffee, he even understood that maybe even though he had considered the previous night a success, Akaashi could had not enjoyed it so much and that is why he decided to cancel their plans for the day, yet he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.

With no other plan for the day, he picked up his guitar thinking of Akaashi Keiji and his beautiful face.

" _Sweet... pretty... face..._ " he murmured as he let his fingers go through the strings in a rhythm that didn't seem alright for him. "Ah! Where did I leave my notebook?" he asked himself before putting down the instrument and looking for it in the room.

After searching and been sure that the notebook was not in the room, he took his guitar and left his bedroom. He walked into the living room, where he soon found his notebook on the couch. He flipped through the notebook searching for a clean sheet, finding a pair at the end of it. He frowned before humming the melody that he hadn't finished forming yet. He didn't think the final song was going to be especially long, but he did know that it needed to be polished a lot. He left his guitar on the couch and went to the small bookcase that served as a shelf for several of his belongings that were not necessarily books, squatting down, he finally grabbed a blue notebook from a box filled with blank notebooks that he kept on the shelf. He walked back to the couch, from where he took his guitar and placed the new notebook on the coffee table in front of him.

He ran his fingers over the strings again, playing other chords, resulting in a tune a little lower than he wanted. He frowned, the melody not quite convincing him.

" _Sweet... pretty... face..._ ," he muttered again, moving his fingers a little more to the left and closing his eyes, visualizing Akaashi's beautiful face the night before. The way he smiled and closed his eyes as he gave his full attention to his music.

It really was a beautiful face.

.

"Oikawa-san! You're hurting me!" Keiji exclaimed as he protected his head from his friend's blows.

"Good! I'll keep hurting you until you call Bokuto to tell him you're going to get that coffee!" Replied the brunette, hitting his friend's arms. "I can't believe that after everything you told us, you decided to cancel him!"

"Come on, Oikawa, it might have been the right thing to do," Suga intervened a bit worried. "It's only been two days since Mike's..."

The brunette's blows stopped long enough for Keiji to consider it safe to uncover his head.

"Suga! No one is saying that he has to be in his bed today! I'm saying he must meet him and give him a chance!” Exclaimed the brunette, frowning. "Come on! You must have noticed too! Akaa-chan is completely in love with him!"

Keiji frowned, not because Oikawa was wrong, but because he had perfectly described how he felt about Bokuto.

He had only spent a couple of hours with him and now he was completely in love with the golden-eyed young musician.

And that was a problem considering that as Sugawara had rightly said, not even forty-eight hours had passed since his relationship with Mike had ended.

"That's why I canceled it, Oikawa-san," Keiji declared, getting hit on the head immediately. "Oikawa-san!” He exclaimed before covering his head again from the multiple of blows that Oikawa threw him. "I-It's not s-healthy! Bokuto-san d-deserves more than just a rebound r-relationship!"

"But if you are aware of that then it means it won't a rebound relationship!" Oikawa said, managing to hit the raven once on the back of his head.

"It means that Akaashi is aware of his emotional state and doesn't want it to cause him problems later, Oikawa," Sugawara intervened with a professional air.

"But it's his destiny!"

"I doubt that it was my destiny to meet Bokuto," Keiji intervened, noticing that the blows had stopped.

"Meeting someone by chance in New York is destiny!" Oikawa declared before giving Keiji another blow to the head. "Among millions of people you found someone interesting, who is interested in you and who is handsome! If that's not destiny then I don't know what is!"

"Well, then if it's my destiny I'll see him again," replied the raven, moving away from his friend before he landed another blow. He decided to keep to himself the detail that Bokuto had insisted on the fact that there was no time limit to meet for that coffee, after all as tempting as the offer was, he knew that if he looked for Bokuto it would not be simply with the intention of being his friend, therefore it was better to stop whatever was forming between them at that moment, when no heart could be damaged.

Or severy damaged in any case.

After all, he still couldn't shake off the sadness that canceling his plan with Bokuto had caused him.

It hadn't pass a day since he met him and he already wanted to be able to see again that smile that seemed to eclipse the Sun itself.

Deciding that it would be useless to continue discussing the subject with his friends, he got up and bowed slightly.

"I must leavve, see you later," he declared before the astonished gaze of his friends.

"Hey! Do not go! I won't bring up the subject again, Akaa-chan!'' Oikawa exclaimed.

"Hey, Akaashi! You know Oikawa's intentions were well hearted!

Keiji smirked before shaking his head.

"Actually I have to work, I didn't lie to Bokuto-san about that I was actually busy," the black haired man explained, starting to walk to the coat hanger where there were three sweaters and two coats. He grabbed two of the sweaters and pulled them one over the other, then grabbed a green coat and pulled it over him. "Jessica-san had an accident and I have been asked to cover various of her events until she recovers."

Oikawa and Sugawara whistled at the same time.

"I guess you'll be pretty busy this time, right?" Asked the gray haired one, getting up from the couch and walking to the door.

"I think so, besides my finals will begin soon..." he murmured, taking a gray scarf and wrapping it around his neck.

"You just have to make space in your calendar so we can meet at Christmas, okay?" Oikawa asked from the couch.

Keiji chuckled slightly before nodding.

"I'm sure if I don't show up to eat turkey at your house, Yaku-san and Sugawara-san will drag me out of my apartment," said the raven jokingly.

But the laughter of his friends did not resonate in the room as Keiji expected.

"Who are you spending Christmas Eve with?" Sugawara asked with a frown.

Keiji blinked unsure, he had forgotten that as always, everyone would spend Christmas Eve with their respective families. Sugawara and Daichi would travel to New Jersey to visit Sugawara's parents, Oikawa's parents would travel to visit him, Iwaizumi would spend the night with his family, and Yaku and Lev would return to Japan to visit their families.

Apparently his friends seemed to understand the fact that he had probably forgotten that he should make plans for himself to spend Christmas Eve.

"If you don't have any plans, you can spend it with me, Akaa-chan," Oikawa offered, smiling sincerely, "you know I'll need help to put up with my parents that night. Also, you know they love talking to you, it reminds them of their time in Japan."

Akaashi smiled before shaking his head.

"No thanks, the truth is that Christmas Eve is not a very special date for me," he declared before walking to the entrance hall, from where he took his shoes.

"If you change your mind, you'll be more than welcome to come by, Akaa-chan," his friend insisted, obviously worried.

Keiji nodded before leaving his friend's apartment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you think? I know I was somehow a little short and it was just like two scenes, but I felt it was necessary to separe it from the Christmas Eve chapter so there was some time in between the night at the bar and the next time they meet.
> 
> As always, kudos and comments are more than welcome!  
> Any questions, comment, doubt, suggestion or critic the comments box's is always available!
> 
> Stay safe! ♥


	4. A busy day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Why didn't anyone tell me that everyone had to bring two other gifts?" Koutarou asked Megumi, who laughed on the other side of the call. "If it hadn't been for Lisa asking me to pick up her gifts at the store, I wouldn't have known!"
> 
>  _"_ _Kou! We told you when we agreed_ _to this_ _! You even said it would be fun to see Aunt Makoto's face when she got two horrible presents!”_ The older one reminded him. Koutarou frowned, suddenly remembering the conversation he had had with his sisters a few weeks earlier when they agreed to do a few rounds of the white elephant game that night.
> 
> .
> 
> "Good afternoon, I'm Akaashi Keiji, reporter for the Post, would you mind answering a few questions?" Asked the journalist, making the woman turn to see him with a smile, it was clear that she appreciated the attention.
> 
> "Not at all!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all! Sorry if this chapter is long! I don't now how this happened! It actually ended being so long that I had to separate it in two, I will post the next part in a few hours, when I finish editing it!
> 
> Secondly! Happy almost Christmas Eve (At least now that I'm posting this chapter)! I hope you have a good day and stay safe!
> 
> And well... I still have covid, and it is very difficult for me to stay active cuz I'm so tired all the time, and also I can't taste anything or smell anything and that's kinda frustraiting! But well.. because I feel tired all the time it's difficult for me to write these days, I'll do everything I can to post the chapter of the 25 on time, but I can't make promises. And about the chapters of the 31 of December and the 1st of January.. I will try to get them on time, but if I end up posting them a little later please be patient!
> 
> And well... Enjoy!! I had sooooo much fun writting it...!

"Why didn't anyone tell me that everyone had to bring two other gifts?" Koutarou asked Megumi, who laughed on the other side of the call. "If it hadn't been for Lisa asking me to pick up her gifts at the store, I wouldn't have known!"

 _"_ _Kou! We told you when we agreed_ _to this_ _! You even said it would be fun to see Aunt Makoto's face when she got two horrible presents!”_ The older one reminded him. Koutarou frowned, suddenly remembering the conversation he had had with his sisters a few weeks earlier when they agreed to do a few rounds of the white elephant game that night.

"OK! I already remembered! How much are we talking about?" Asked the man as he put on his boots, after all despite the fact that the snow that Akaashi had predicted almost a month ago had never arrived, the rain had plagued the city for several weeks.

 _"_ _A stupid gift_ _from_ _fifteen to twenty dollars and a good gift_ _of_ _twenty dollars to twenty_ _five dollars._ _"_

"What kind of stupid gift will cost twenty dollars?" He asked taking his keys.

 _"If I give you ideas, you probably know what I bought, so I can't help you with that, go to Target, you might find something,"_ suggested the older one.

"Go to Target? On December 24? Are you crazy?" He asked starting down the stairs.

 _"_ _I don't know, do you have another idea?_ _"_

"Not really," said the boy, walking towards the exit of the building, which was at the back of the drugstore that was under his apartment. Noticing that the rain continued, he opened his umbrella, his waterproof jacket would not be of much help against the water that fell non-stop. "I guess I'll go to Target, do you need anything from there?"

 _"No, I have everything you need for desserts ready, I'll make that Tres Leches cake that you like so much,"_ replied the older woman, making Koutarou smile immediately.

"Have I told you how glad I am that you married Javier?"

The laugh of his sister did not wait.

 _"Only every time you find out I'll make that cake,"_ Megumi replied. _"_ _You should call Lisa, she_ _is supposed to_ _take care of the turkey... she might need something from the store._ _"_

Koutarou rolled his eyes.

If I ask her, she is capable of asking me to buy everything to make the turkey" said the younger, remembering how carefree her sister was in that kind of matter. "Whose wonderful idea was it to ask her to do the main dish?"

 _"_ _Mom, says that it is time for Lisa to begin to be more responsible with the home_ _stuff_ _so that she can get a husband_ _."_

Koutarou rolled his eyes again.

"If Lisa gets to get a husband, it won't be because of her abilities to ruin a dinner," he said somewhat annoyed. Is it that his mother was not worried about something more than seeing them married and with children?

 _"In that_ _,_ _I agree, I think it's easier for someone to fall in love with her ability to control her pulse despite_ _drinking_ _a bottle of vodka_ _all_ _by herself,"_ declared the older woman, making Koutarou laugh when he remembered how a few years ago in In the middle of a party, a highly intoxicated Lisa had demonstrated her ability to make a clean cut on her mother's mahogany table.

When the siblings' laughter stopped, Megumi spoke again.

 _"_ _Where will you pick up Lisa's gifts?_ _"_

"I'll pick up from Bestbuy what I suppose will be the good gift," Koutarou replied, "I'll pick up the other gift from the pottery shop on Bedford Avenue."

 _"_ _Why don't you go to Victoria's Secret_ _s_ _near the BestBuy? I bet mom would die of embarrassment if she opened her gift and saw that they are thongs,_ _"_ said the woman on the other end of the line.

Koutarou laughed heartily.

"But if you or Lisa take that gift, it will be useful to you," replied the minor.

 _"I would love to have that gift!"_ Exclaimed the voice of his brother-in-law on the other end of the line.

 _"_ _If you get that gift, you will use them not me!_ _"_ His sister replied to her husband.

"I'd rather not have so many details about your life," Koutarou complained as he walked down the street, seeing how the sky looked a little less gray, maybe the rain would finally give the city a rest.

His sister laughed on the other end of the line.

"I'm sorry, but my belly grows bigger every day, it's impossible for me to wear a thong," said the older one, making the younger one close his eyes and frown, ultimately he didn't want that much of information. _"_ _But think about it, only three people will find your gift useful. If Dad, Mom, or Aunt Makoto take it, it'll be fun!_ _"_

Koutarou sighed as he waited for the traffic light to turn red.

"I guess if I can't think of anything I can do that," he murmured, looking at the time. "I'll go to Target in about two hours, if you can think of something you need call me, but when I leave Target I won't be back even if you pay me."

 _"Yes, yes, good luck, Kou,"_ Megumi wished him. _"_ _See you._ _"_

"See you," Koutarou said as he started to cross the street.

.

Keiji frowned as he tried to take a little nap in his seat, something almost impossible due to a child having decided to throw a fit in the aisle.

"But mom! I want to go to McDonald's!" the boy yelled.

"Sweetheart, there will be a lot of food at home, plus your cousins will come!" The mother exclaimed in a condescending tone that was probably trying to hide the fact that the woman was losing her cool.

"I hate Tyler! He keeps crying and ruining everything!" The little boy complained.

"Don't say that!" Replied the woman, taking the boy's arm to pull him towards her, trying to make him sit. "Plus you'll see Jackie and Seth!'' Added the woman with a false patience that Keiji wasn't sure he could pretend at that point.

The mention of the other children seemed to make the boy forget his craving for fast food, which made Keiji wonder why the woman hadn't resorted to that before. When the boy sat on the spot next to his mother, the wagon's peaker announced his station.

"Perfect," he murmured somewhat annoyed, getting up from his seat and then walking towards the door of the cart. Twenty minutes had passed and he hadn't been able to sleep at all.

Unlike the subway, which had the same busy air as ever, the streets of Manhattan had a more festive and cheerful air.

And also, a bit unhinged.

After all, it was only a few hours until everyone started their Christmas Eve dinners. Since everyone had plans for one of the most special days of the year.

Everyone except him.

Between his end of term assignments and his new workload in the past few weeks, courtesy of Jessica's terrible driving skills in the city's crazy traffic, he had barely had time to rest. He only had time to sleep, eat something in a hurry, and briefly answer the chat he had with his friends, the latter being to prevent them from breaking into his apartment at night to make sure he was alive, just as Yaku had done in the previous semester.

Even now, he was not walking to Macy's with the intention of indulging in a little Christmas treat, but with the intention of reporting on the long lines outside the store.

He mentally went over the questions he would have to ask at least twenty people.

What brought them to do those lines on a December 24?

How long have they been in line?

Until what time are they willing to wait?

What plans did they had for Christmas Eve?

How important did they considered Christmas shopping to get through the holidays?

He sighed in defeat.

He hated covering the bland notes in the "Life" section.

But that extra money was pretty useful.

Once he found himself in front of the huge line of people, he scanned the scene for other reporters, quickly identifying them because they were next to the line. There were four reporting to a television station, three probably interviewing for a newspaper or magazine, and he lost count of how many of those that were in the line and were recording themselves with their phone, probably for a vlog or some instastory.

Sighing he went to where he assumed it was the middle of the line, where people would probably be bored enough to want to talk to someone, but not fed up enough to be rude to him. He saw gray hair in that area and decided it would be a good idea to start with someone a little older.

He took out his cell phone and opened his recording app.

"Good afternoon, I'm Akaashi Keiji, reporter for the Post, would you mind answering a few questions?" He asked the gray haired man, who immediately turned to see him.

When the man's face was visible, Keiji had to restrain himself from cursing out loud.

"Akaashi-san, it's been a while"

"Kita-san, hello," replied the reporter trying to maintain a professional air. After a few moments of silence, he decided that the opinion of one of his ex-boyfriend's friends was as good as anyone else's. "Could I ask you the questions?"

The gray haired man nodded.

"Sure, what do you need to ask me?"

Keiji hit the record button before holding his phone close to the young man.

"What is it that brings you to do this line on a December 24?"

Kita seemed to ponder his answer for a moment.

"My partner forgot to buy a gift for his mother, but he's busy making dinner, so I came in his place," replied the young man. Keiji smiled at the thought that the always responsible Aran had forgotten something so important.

"I see, and how long have you been waiting?"

Kita turned to see his wristwatch.

"About two hours."

"Do you plan to wait much longer?"

Kita nodded immediately.

"I am more or less in the middle of the line, so I will probably have to wait another two hours, but since I started waiting I was prepared for this," replied the boy.

The raven smiled before nodding.

"Do you have any plans for Christmas Eve? From what I heard, your partner is preparing dinner."

"I'll have dinner at my partner's family home, then I'll meet a group of friends at a small party," Kita answered.

Keiji knew perfectly what was the plan of the man in front of him, after all he himself had been part of said party for a couple of years. It was the annual party they had in the Miya twins' apartment, which his ex-boyfriend had been organizing with his brother for about five years.

Wanting to prevent an awkward silence from being established between him and Kita, he decided to continue with his questions.

"Do you consider Christmas shopping important to be able to enjoy the season?" He asked, assuming the answer would be no, after all Kita was that kind of person.

"Yes," replied the young man, surprising him. His face seemed to have given him away because a slight smile crossed Kita's face. "For me, the important thing is not the date or the whole Christmas protocol, especially since I spend a lot of time with my family on a regular basis throughout the year. But that is not the case with my partner, his family flies from different places to meet on these days, and I understand that one way to celebrate is by buying gifts and doing something different than the usual stuff."

Keiji smiled before stopping the recording and putting his phone away.

"As eloquent as ever, Kita-san."

"Comming from you, I will consider that as a compliment, Akaashi-san. From what I see you don't rest, even on these days."

"The news don't stop happening, even at these days, no matter how small," replied the raven. "Also I have no plans for this day, I may as well let someone else spend time with their family."

Keiji knew that the small smile that had appeared on the face of his ex-boyfriend's friend was because he understood. After all, Kita came from a Japanese immigrant family who had somehow managed to keep their traditions and lifestyle. Like Keiji, he viewed the madness of the Christmas festivities as a foreigner, enjoying the holidays without feeling real pressure since it had not been engraved in him since childhood as in most people.

"If you don't have any plans, you should consider going to Atsumu and Osamu's appartment, I'm sure the rest will be happy to see you again," Kita offered.

Keiji quickly denied, feeling his shoulders tense immediately.

"No thanks, I couldn't bother them like that."

"You know that you will be very welcome."

"I don't see how I can be welcomed in my ex-boyfriend's apartment, where his current boyfriend will be."

Kita shrugged.

"If I remember correctly, you were also friends with Atsumu and Sakusa, and I am sure that Aran and the rest will be happy to see you again," Kita replied. "Also, I don't think Suna has anything against you, and I know that Osamu tried to keep his friendship with you after you broke up."

It was Keiji's turn to shrug.

He knew Kita was right, he had a strange affinity with Sakusa and he had always been amused by the fuss that Atsumu made with his brother. If he was honest with himself, it probably wouldn't have been necessary to lose all contact with his ex-boyfriend's group of friends, but Osamu and Atsumu were always the center of attention in that group of friends, so walking away had been the best way to avoid uncomfortable moments.

"It won't be this time Kita-san, but please wish everyone a Merry Christmas for me," said the black-haired man smiling.

"I'll do that."

"If you'll excuse me, I'll continue with my work."

"Go ahead, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, Akaashi-san" Kita wished him with a little bow.

"Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, Kita-san," said the young man before walking a couple of yards, with the intention of interviewing a woman whose hair seemed to have required several hours in a beauty salon.

"Good afternoon, I'm Akaashi Keiji, reporter for the Post, would you mind answering a few questions?" Asked the journalist, making the woman turn to see him with a smile, it was clear that she appreciated the attention.

"Not at all!"

.

Two hours after leaving his apartment, Koutarou was just in Bestbuy picking up Lisa's order, which was already wrapped in a horrible yellow and blue wrapper with the store's logo all over it. Deciding not to risk losing it, he placed it in the bag from the pottery shop he had visited earlier, in which he had wasted an hour waiting to be noticed by the lady only to be given a heavy brown package.

He walked for a while through the aisles of the store, which were crowded with more people than usual, but with fewer people than that day of Black Friday. When he got to the headphones aisle he noticed that there were some Skullcandy headphones on sale. He picked up the box with a frown, it was about the same size as the gift box he had picked up for Lisa, once wrapped no one could really tell the difference between Lisa's gift and the headphones, but the headphnes box was a bit longer, he could differentiate them in the game.

He smiled before taking the headphones and heading to the registers.

He had needed new set of headphones for a long time when he was out on the street and he did not want to risk damaging his Bosé.

Twenty minutes later he left the store with $ 26.75 less than before and the bag from the pottery store a little heavier.

As he paid for his hot dog, he started looking at options for buying the second gift. He had seen that the Target line was outside the store, so he had decided to save time and stress by avoiding it. He received the hot dog from him and let the man behind him order his food the moment he decided he might as well heed the advice of his sister and buy some thongs at Victoria's Secret. He would put the garments in a large box to conceal its contents, probably that way his aunt would insist on obtaining the box.

As he approached the store whose Christmas decorations were themed with lingerie, silver and pink, he felt his face turn the same shade as the store.

For a man it was shameful to be seen in a store dedicated to women's underwear.

For a homosexual man it was even more so.

After all there was the always present stigma that because of his sexual preferences people believed that he liked to wear feminine things or that he tried to be a woman.

He quickly shook his head, trying to get that idea out of his mind.

His preferences were his business, even if he liked to wear women's lingerie, that was nobody's business but his.

He had as much right to be in that store as anyone else.

When he entered the store he noticed that while it was not as crowded with people as Target, there were many women walking among the aisles and clothing racks.

"Do you need help?" asked him a dark-haired girl with a side-to-side smile whose employee tag said " _Grace_ ".

"Yes, I'm looking for some ... uh ... thongs?" hhe asked, somewhat embarrassed to say it out loud.

The young woman smiled kindly before nodding.

"You came to the right place, some style that you are looking for?" Asked the woman starting to walk towards a side section where there were several baskets full of colorful thongs.

Koutarou widened his eyes somewhat surprised by the number of models that were in sight.

"Huh? Tiny ones?"

The young woman laughed before pointing to a basket in the middle of the shelf.

"That is the tiniest model we have, but instead of searching for a tiny thong, I would advise you to think about the body type of your girlfriend," said the young woman, pointing to the rest of the baskets. "The trick is, if something is big it is better that the fabric that covers that part is wider. Also, the classic lace is always a safe choice." said the girl pulling out a thong with a little bow on top.

Koutarou nodded completely flushed.

"Do you know her pants size?"

Koutarou nodded before separating his hands.

He decided to ignore the fact that the measure was what he calculated were the hips of a certain reporter he had met for almost a month ago.

"Yes! Well, no!"

The young woman laughed again.

"That basket has one-size thongs, but they are all made of lace. Those are in promotion of one for 14.50 or two for 20 dollars" said the girl pointing to one of the upper baskets "But if that's your girlfriend's hips, a small size will be good. The ones in this basket are one for 10.50 or three for 20 dollars. Do you need help with anything else? What is her skin color?"

Koutarou felt his face heat up even more, was his luck so rotten that the most helpful girl in the store was helping him?

"Huh? Golden?'' Koutarou muttered. "Like tan but not to much?"

The young woman lowered one of the upper baskets and took an indigo blue lace thong.

"The dark and cold colors complement that skin color very well," he said before checking the label. "Look! Is a small one! It will be perfect for her!" She added handing the little garment to Koutarou.

"Ah! Thank you!"

"Do you need help choosing other colors?" Asked the clerk while smiling.

"Ah, no, I think I can so that alone."

"Very well! If you need more help, do not hesitate to tell me or ask any other employee" said the young woman before turning around and offering help to a plump young woman who was mortified to see a rack full of bras.

Not wanting to spend any more time in the store she grabbed another two thongs, one black and one dark gray, and walked to the register.

Fifteen minutes later he left the store carrying a small black and pink bag that she revealed where she had spent the last minutes.

And then he saw him.

Leaving the ice cream shop in front of the lingerie store.

Akaashi Keiji.

He found himself asking any to God that the reporter didn't see him.

And then their gazes met.

He forced a smile onto his face as he walked towards the raven.

.

"Good afternoon, Bokuto-san," Akaashi greeted, trying his best not to show his disappointment on his face.

For almost four weeks he had not stopped thinking about the opportunity he could have had with Bokuto, and now that he ran into him again, he saw him with a gift for some girl, which, taking into account the type of clothes that the store that Bokuto had come from, it would probably be his girlfriend.

Had he really had a chance? Or had he imagined the connection he had felt with the musician?

"Hi! Akaashi!" said the musician raising the arm that held the small black and pink bag, which he lowered quickly ."What are you doing here? Last minute shopping?"

Keiji shook his head before directing his gaze to the window wall that faced outside.

"I hope the rain goes down a bit before I go out," he explained before lifting his ice cream a bit. "I would have preferred a cup of coffee, but everyone seems to have the same craving,” he added.

Bokuto's eyes widened slightly and Keiji realized that the musician had remembered his invitation to a coffee that he had made almost a month before.

"I still owe you a coffee," Bokuto said immediately as a smile covered his entire face.

Keiji smiled before shaking his head.

"Don't worry, Bokuto-san, this coffee ice cream is enough for me to take courage to go out," joked the raven, letting Bokuto's attitude relax him. He didn't have to feel uncomfortable, Bokuto had every right to have gotten someone in that month. He wasn't even sure that Bokuto had wanted something with him in the first place, after all Keiji had found himself emotionally vulnerable back then.

"I'm still waiting for that message to invite you that coffee," said the one with gray hair, starting to walk to a bench without taking his eyes off him, inviting him to follow him without having to say it. "So what are you doing here waiting for the rain to come down?"

Keiji smiled.

It was very easy to talk to Bokuto.

"Well, after having worked the last six hours, I thought it was time to go back to my apartment to rest," Keiji replied before savoring his ice cream.

"It's always smart to rest before a party," the musician said, smiling before frowning. "Working on December 24?"

Keiji let a laugh escape his lips.

"Yes, I am one of the few people who did not have plans for today, so they asked me to cover a couple of news" he explained without giving it a second thought, and then eat more of his ice cream. He thought of the news he had covered earlier in the day: the huge line to get into Macy's, the man dressed as Santa Claus rapping in the street to get money for an orphanage, the attempted robbery of a liquor store where the thief tried to pretend that an umbrella was a weapon, the interview with members of the Columbia University Christmas Carol's group who would spend the night in different shelters, and finally the interview with different people in the mall about what they considered most important at these parties. When the level of the ice cream was the same as the cone, he snapped back to reality. "And you Bokuto-san? Last minute Christmas shopping to avoid problems?" He asked, unable to prevent his eyes from staring at the small Victoria's Secret bag.

Bokuto's face instantly reddened.

"Oh! Yes! Well... no! This..! It's not what you think!" exclaimed the gray-haired man, pointing to the bag.

Keiji blinked in confusion.

"I-It's okay, Bokuto-san, you don't have to..."

"No!" Bokuto said before lowering the bag. "I'm sorry, this is very embarrassing..."

"Don't worry, Bokuto-san, I don't judge you. I'm glad that..."

"No! It's a prank gift!” The musician exclaimed before taking a deep breath and returning his attention to Keiji. "We are going to play a white elephant game at dinner, and we need to bring a good present and a prank present. I couldn't think of anything to bring as a bad gift, so I asked my sister for help on what to buy, and she suggested this to me" he said, lifting the bag again.

Keiji nodded.

Depending on what Bokuto had bought, it would definitely be a poor gift to open in the middle of a family dinner.

"I guess you'll change the wrapper so they don't know what you bought," Keiji said as he nibbled on the cone.

"Yes, I'll find something to wrap it in my apartment."

"Well, it seems that the part of the joke gift is covered," Keiji said once he had finished his ice cream.

They were silent for a few moments before Bokuto spoke again.

"So you don't have plans for today?" The young man asked, turning to see him with some curiosity. "Not even a boring family dinner or something?"

Keiji shook his head before staring at him at the window facing the street.

"My family is in Japan, and we don't really celebrate these holidays," he explained, remembering how when he lived in Japan, the holiday turned out to be a night to spend walking on the streets with friends.

"And your friends? Will they let you spend Christmas Eve alone?" Bokuto asked with clear concern in his voice.

Keiji turned to see him somewhat surprised, why did Bokuto worry so much about how he would spend a night that he didn't really care?

"Huh? Yes? Actually Oikawa-san invited me to spend the night with him and his family, but I don't really want to interrupt one of the few times a year that he sees his parents" he answered quickly.

Bokuto nodded before closing his eyes, then opening them inmediatly.

"Why don't you come to eat dinner at my house?"

"Huh?"

.

Koutarou couldn't really believe that the first thing he did when he found out that Akaashi was spending Christmas Eve alone was just invite him to his family dinner.

Because obviously the boy who hadn't wanted to see him for coffee was going to want to spend a night with him and his family.

The expression of total and utter surprise on the black-haired's face was evidence of this.

"You know...! You said you would spend the night alone! And well...! No one should spend these night alone?" The man with the golden eyes tried to explain.

Akaashi nodded slowly.

"Don't worry, Bokuto-san, these days are not really important to me," said the journalist before taking his phone from him and showing him what he assumed were some recordings, judging by the icons on the screen. "I should also workin in advance a few articles of what I went to see today."

Koutarou nodded, not really convinced.

"So you really are someone busy," Koutarou murmured remembering that call a few weeks ago.

After all Akaashi hadn't canceled with him because he wanted to avoid it, but the reporter was a really busy person. Long enough to spend that night working.

"This past month has been chaos for me," Akaashi murmured, letting his posture hunch a bit, as if saying it aloud weighed him down. "Last week was my end of terms week and as soon as my work knew that I had a little more time, they began to ask me to cover more news. I shouldn't complain, I know that they commission me to do these extra jobs because they recognize my work, and the extra money has been more than OK... But I'm tired of being so... tired..."

Akaashi's cheeks colored slightly, as if he was embarrassed by his sudden monologue, something that Koutarou found really cute.

"Sounds like you need a little of free time," said the gray-haired man, turning to see the ceiling. "When was the last time you had an afternoon or a night to yourself?"

Akaashi's response was immediate.

"The day I met you," replied the black-haired man, making Koutarou turn around to see him surprised.

"Really?" He asked incredulously.

"I told you this month has been chaos for me," Akaashi said as his cheeks were little more flused

"Well, it's a curious coincidence that your last night off and your new night off are going to be with me," Koutarou declared with much more confidence than he actually felt.

"Huh?"

"You said you should work in advance the articles, so that means they are not for tomorrow" Koutarou said remembering the words that the black-haired man had used a few moments ago.

"Ah, yes, but..."

"No buts! Come on! If I let you spend the rest of the day alone, you will probably spend it working! Besides, no one is supposed to spend these days alone!"

"But..."

"Come on! It will be fun! We always make enough food to have leftover for a week!"

"Sorry Bokuto-san..."

"Come on! It will be fun!"

The raven finally looked away before denying with his head.

"I'm sorry, but I can't interrupt your family dinner like that, Bokuto-san," Akaashi stated so firmly that left no room for reply.

Koutarou sighed in defeat.

He knew that offering Akaashi to spend the night with his family was a stupid idea, after all, what kind of person invited an almost stranger to a Christmas Eve dinner? It had taken Megumi two years to bring Javier to one of those family gatherings, wasn't that a good reference to how bad was the plan he had proposed?

Still, the thought of Akaashi spending the rest of the day in front of a computer getting work done made him feel uncomfortable.

"I think the rain has calmed down a bit," Akaashi muttered before getting up and throwing his napkin into a nearby trash can, "I should take advantage of that."

Koutarou got up along with him.

"Me too, plus I might catch right nows departure if I hurry."

"Do you live very far from here?"

Koutarou adjusted his shopping bags while he took his umbrella.

"Not really. I usually walk here from my apartment, but today I have walked in the rain for about two hours, so I think I might as well take a ride back," explained the musician, starting to walk with Akaashi. "Tell me about you? You live very far?"

Akaashi denied as they went down the stairs.

"I also usually walk when I come here, but I prefer to sit on the heating of the bus and stop walking with wet shoes," said the black-haired man lifting his foot a little, revealing a honey-colored boot that looked soaked.

Koutarou made a mental note that Akaashi probably didn't live very far from him, taking into account that on a normal day it would take him 30 to 40 minutes to walk to the mall.

"Wow, did you decide to jump into a pond?" Koutarou asked, pointing to the shoes of his companion with a gesture of his head.

"More like the bus stop was a pond. I didn't notice it until I felt the water hit my calves."

Koutarou shook his head as he opened his umbrella while Akaashi did the same with a yellow umbrella.

Akaashi seemed to notice that Koutarou had fixed his gaze on the umbrella since he soon spoke again.

"I didn't choose it," he said quickly. "The wind flipped my old umbrella and Yaku-san got me this one at the 99 cent store. And for some reason this umbrella has lasted me longer than any other."

The musician laughed heartily.

"Maybe he's trying hard so it won't be replaced soon."

"Probably," Akaashi conceded smiling sideways. Without realizing it, he found himself waiting for the bus next to Akaashi. "Do you also take the B45?"

Koutarou decided that yes, that day he would take the bus that took 25 minutes to make the route to his apartment instead of taking the subway that made the same route in 15 minutes.

"Yes, the subway will be bursting," he declared as if he really cared about his personal space at that moment.

.

"Promise me that you will at least buy some turkey dish or ham dish for dinner, you look like the kind of person who will have a package of insant ramen for dinner on Christmas Eve." Bokuto's voice asked with something that Keiji could identify as concern and mockery.

The reporter was grateful to be able to blame the heating of the bus for his blushing, present from the moment Bokuto had sat next to him, occupying a bit of his seat due to his muscles, something that could not bother less Keiji.

He loved to feel how Bokuto's body pressed lightly on him.

He had no problem admitting to himself that he was actually completely mesmerized by the physique of the kind man next to him, after all it wasn't like his friends were going to find out and tease him about it.

"Don't worry Bokuto-san, I have a list of all the takeaway restaurants in the area that will remain open tonight," the reporter stated.

Koutarou's laugh reached his ears.

"I'm glad to hear that."

A second later, the screen showing the name of the route changed, now showing the name of the stop where Keiji was supposed to get off.

_"Washington Av / Dean St"_

"Well, it's time for me to get off," Keiji declared, trying to think of an excuse so he could continue on the bus for a bit longer. "It was a pleasure to see you again."

Bokuto gave him a smile, which made Keiji curse he had spoken, before moving a bit to let him pass.

"You could have told me that your stop was this close, besides all this time I have been crushing you against the window, right?" said Bokuto as Keiji got up from his seat, much to his regret.

"No problem, if something does not change between New York or Tokyo it is the lack of personal space in the public transportation"

Bokuto's laugh echoed in Keiji's ears.

"Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, Bokuto-san" wished the black-haired man once he found himself in the bus aisle.

"Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, Akaashi," the musician repeated.

Without anything more to say, he approached the back door of the bus.

The doors opened and Keiji prepared to go exit, when Bokuto's voice made him stop in his tracks.

"If you are not busy tomorrow shot me a text so I can buy you that coffee! I'm sure there must be at least one Starbucks open tomorrow!"

Keiji turned to look at him immediately, unable to prevent an illusion-filled smile from covering his face and nodding.

Not trusting he could hide his emotions, he nodded before quickly getting off, not wanting to hinder the other two people trying to get off the bus.

While deciding that he would send that message to Bokuto, he didn't bother to open his umbrella, his walk to his apartment was going to be a short one.

He entered through the service door of the restaurant, greeted the owners, and climbed the stairs that led to his apartment. When he found himself in the hall, he hung his now-soaked coat on the coat hanger, got rid of his shoes and socks, and walked barefoot across the cold floor of the place, cursing for the again that the heating did not work. Once he got to the bathroom he undressed, dried his feet and left his wet clothes in the laundry basket, to continue his way to his room shivering from the cold. He opened his drawer and took out of it a set of thermal clothing and a pair of thick socks, putting them on as soon as he could, then walking to the closet and taking out of it some joggers, two sweaters and a sweatshirt. Feeling a little more comfortable than he was just moments ago he went to his couch, where his laptop rested.

He turned on his TV, went into the Netflix app and searched his watchlist for a few moments, deciding it was a good idea to watch the Sugar Rush Christmas special, he wouldn't have to pay too much attention to the show to understand it, and it would be nice to listen while writing. He turned on his computer and left it next to him as he searched for his voicenotes from his phone.

When he found the first recording he took the computer from him and pressed play.

_"What is it that brings you to do this line on a December 24?"_

_"My partner forgot to buy a gift for his mother, but he is busy making dinner, so I came in his place."_

.

Once he had packed his Victoria's Secrets' purchases in a huge red box with a huge silver bow, he checked his clock.

4:18

It was a good time to start getting ready, so he could get to his parents' house early and not have to worry about a scolding from his mother for being late. He went to his closet and looked for the red jacket that Megumi had asked him to wear, finding it immediately, he looked for a pair of black jeans that he knew were new enough to not earn him a disapproving look from his mother, and took the shirt that he had ironed the day before.

"Where did I left that tie?" He asked, searching through his clothes for the green tie that he had bought a week ago, when he had made his trip to Macy's to find the Christmas gifts for his family. When he finally found it, he made five attempts to tie it, then gave it up and tucked it into the inside pocket of his coat. "I'll ask Javier to help me” he murmured before going to the living room.

He saw the gift boxes and bags that he had to take home to his parents' house.

Two identical bags, one with a yellow sweater for Lisa and one with a red sweater for Megumi; a small box containing an old Nintendo 3Ds game that he had gotten from the second-hand section of GameStop for Javier, another small box with a Swiss army knife for his father, and two larger identical boxes, one with a blue scarf for her aunt and another with a black scarf for her mother

And of course the gifts he had gotten for the white elephant game.

Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea to use that huge box for the thongs he had bought.

Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea to put two bricks inside that box to give it more weight.

He shrugged thinking that it was too late to regret his decisions and that the faces of his parents and aunt when one of them got three thongs and two bricks would be really funny.

He grabbed his scarf and his thickest waterproof jacket while he waited for his Uber, wasn't going to spend an hour and a half in the subway to get to his parents' house in Queens.

When the driver sent him a message saying that she was outside the pharmacy, he took all the gifts and left the apartment, and then juggled to be able to put the lock on the door.

The trip to his parents' house was considerably faster than he expected, surprising him that leaving two hours early made the traffic much more bearable. Once in front of the house that her mother had been in charge of decorating more out of commitment to the neighbors than for her own pleasure, he sent a message to his sister asking her to help him lower the gifts and opened the door.

"Thank you very much Samira, Merry Christmas" wished the golden eyed boy as he passed the gifts to his brother-in-law.

"What are you bringing here? Rocks?"

Koutarou laughed heartily before picking up his pace and entering the house.

When he left his shoes in the hall and removed his jacket, he remembered the fact that he had not tied his tie.

"By the way, could you help me with my tie? I gave up..."

"Sure, although you should learn to do it yourself, I won't always be there to help you," the man replied.

"I only need to wear a tie when I'm here, and whenever I need to wear a tie here, you and Megumi are here."

Javier laughed, letting the boy pass.

"Hi! I'm here!"

"You arrived at the worst moment," Javier murmured as he walked to the living room, where the tree was surrounded by gifts.

"Huh?" He managed to ask before hearing the screams from the kitchen.

"I can't believe you did that!" His mother's voice screamed. "Do you have no ashamed?"

"I told you I didn't have time! I left the hospital two hours ago!"

"I asked you a month ago! You had plenty of time to prepare yourself and make time!"

"And a month ago I told you I couldn't! Megumi offered to do it! I don't know why you insisted on believing that I would!"

"You have to grow up Lisa! Be more mature!"

"Sorry? What part of being a doctor in the ER isn't mature? Do you know that I was stabilizing a child three hours ago because she fell out of a tree and a rib punctured her lung?"

"It does not matter! Megumi works too and if she brought her part of the dinner!"

"Megumi is a teacher! She is on vacation!"

Koutarou blinked in puzzlement.

"Don't tell me Lisa didn't really do anything," he murmured, shocked as he sat on the couch in front of his older sister.

"Exactly, they've been fighting for half an hour," Megumi replied before taking a sip from her wine cup, to which Koutarou gave her a disapproving look. "Relax, it's just cranberry juice."

"What do we do?" He asked, stopping paying attention to the screams of his sister and his mother.

"I've been calling nearby restaurants to see which ones are still open and can accept such large last minute orders, but I haven't had any luck," replied his sister, showing Koutarou her call history. "At this rate I think I'll start looking for pizza places..."

Suddenly the image of a blushing Akaashi came to his mind.

 _"Don't worry Bokuto-san, I have a list of all the takeaway restaurants in the area that will be open tonight_ _."_

"I think I have an idea," he said before taking out his phone and calling to certain journalist.

 _"_ _Bokuto-san?_ _"_

"Hi, Akaashi, I haven't heard from you in a long time," Koutarou greeted getting a couple of surprised looks from his sister and brother-in-law.

 _"A long time,"_ joked the young man on the other end of the line. _"_ _Something happened?_ _"_

Koutarou sighed, he would have wished that call had been to ask him to go for a coffee, but there was no point in thinking about it.

"Yeah, you see there was a little problem with the dinner and I need a place that is still open and accepts a somewhat large order... And I remembered that you had a list of places..."

Akaashi's laugh flooded his mind.

 _"_ _Sure, I'll_ _send_ _it to you._ _"_

"Thanks, Akaashi."

 _"_ _You're welcome. I hope everything goes well, Bokuto-san._ _Merry_ _..._ _"_

Koutarou bit his lip.

"Wait! Akaashi?"

 _"Yes?"_ Akaashi's voice sounded surprised.

"Are you sure you don't want to join us?"

Two pairs of eyes in front of him widened in surprise.

"How brave!" Megumi exclaimed.

Akaashi laughed on the other end of the phone.

 _"_ _Sorry, Bokuto-san, I don't want to interrupt._ _"_

Koutarou tried not to feel discouraged, after all he already expected that answer.

 _"_ _But if the coffee offer is still_ _up_ _tomorrow, I would love to have a cup at a Starbucks that opens on December 25th._ _"_

Koutarou felt his face hurt from smiling so much.

"Sure! Of course! Tomorrow I'll find a damn open Starbucks!" Koutarou exclaimed getting up from his seat.

Akaashi's laugh had become his favorite sound.

 _"_ _I'll_ _be_ _look_ _ing_ _forward to it, have a good dinne_ _r."_

"Thanks Akaashi! Happy Christmas Eve!"

 _"Happy Christmas Eve, see you tomorrow,"_ Akaashi said goodbye.

"See you tomorrow!" Exclaimed the musician before ending the call and shouting with excitement. "Yes!"

"Is it my imagination or did you just take advantage of our failed dinner to get a second date with the TV guy?" Megumi asked clearly impressed.

His phone rang indicating that he had received a message.

He quickly went through the list Akaashi had sent him.

"What do you prefer? Sushi? Thai, Italian, Greek...?" Asked the younger, ignoring the question from his sister.

"Which is the closest restaurant?" Javier asked, getting up to see the phone of the man with the golden eyes. "Is everything in Brooklyn?"

"Akaashi lives in Brooklyn and as far as I know, he doesn't own a car, it isn't weird that he searched for places kinda near there."

"You should have asked him if he had a list of the restaurants in Queens," Megumi muttered.

"Look! This place is a half hour drive away and I know they have great Mexican food! We can buy some pozole or something like that ... We usually cook that at my parents'..."

"I thought they made tamales?" Megumi asked.

"That too," Javier replied with a shrug. "It's kinda like a buffet, we make ah... pork leg? It's the leg of the pig... And turkey, pozole, menudo, tamales ... We are a lot of people so there is never too much food..."

.

Keiji was still smiling as he put on his Dr. Materns, letting them cover the bottom of his pants. He grabbed a matching scarf and hat, then grabbed a thick duvet jacket and left his apartment.

He was craving some Mexican food, and he was so happy that he would be having coffee with Bokuto the next day that he didn't care that the place was forty-five minutes away by subway and there was no delivery service.

Also, the pozole from that place was quite comforting.

He put on the airpods, ignoring the fact that his left airpod was not working well, hearing half the volume of the right one. After his conversation with Bokuto he couldn't care less about that little inconvenience.

The the subway ride happened without any incident, being able to ignore the rest of the users thanks to his music and the novel that they had downloaded to his phone. He liked more reading a physical book, but due to the imminent danger of his book ending up wet, he had decided that the ebook version was good enough.

When he left the station under the protection of his yellow umbrella, he noticed a small coffee shop across the street, so he decided to deviate a bit from his route and go check its door.

_Closed December 24 and 25._

He would need to search for another place.

He crossed the street again, deciding that it would be best to search for a place on the internet when he spoke to Bokuto the next day.

After five minutes walking, he found himself at the entrance of the restaurant.

"Good evening," a curly-haired young woman greeted him with a huge smile. "Do you want to eat here or do you want to order take away?"

"Good evening," said the boy as he entered the restaurant. "I would like to order a take away."

"Very well, here is the menu," said the girl, handing him a paper menu, and then taking a quick look at the place and smiling. "The dining room is quite empty, if you want you can sit..."

Keiji smiled.

"Thank you very much," said the boy smiling as he sat at a nearby table. He went through the menu, making up his mind after reading it a couple of times. "I'd like an order of tamales, a large plate of pozole, and two orders of flautas."

The young woman nodded as she wrote down the order.

"Something to drink? We have champurrado, which is a hot drink, it's somewhat thick and sweet, ”the girl offered.

\- Oh yeah, I'd like a glass of that too.

The girl turned to see him somewhat puzzled.

"Won't your friends want some too...?"

Keiji was about to ask him what did she meant when he realized what the girl meant.

"Ah, the food is just for me..."

The girl blushed and began to apologize over and over again, to which Keiji had to repeatedly assure her that there was no problem, telling her that he understood that the amount of food there seemed to be for more people, but that he had actually ordered that much food so he could have some leftovers the next day, the latter being a lie told to try to maintain a little of his dignity and not look like a glutton.

Once the girl left the order in the kitchen, she was back in front of Keiji.

"Does it bother you if I sit with you?" asked the girl. "There isn't much to do here."

The journalist shook his head making a gesture with his hand to indicate the chair in front of him, and the girl nodded, taking a seat.

"My name is Emilia Barrón, by the way."

"Akaashi Keiji," the journalist introduced himself. A silence not necessarily uncomfortable settled between the two, either way, he decided to speak to break it. "I don't want to be nosy, but, why are you open tonight?"

The young woman smiled.

"Oh, we are Jehovah's Witnesses, we don't celebrate these holidays," the girl replied. "And you? What makes you to buy Mexican food tonight?"

"In Japan we don't really celebrate these holidays," he replied, deciding to omit the fact that he had no one to celebrate the night with. He frowned slightly, thinking that he had at least three offers to celebrate the party, but decided to ignore that detail, remembering that it was best not to bother others on such a special day

"Are you from Japan?"

"Yes," replied the raven, smiling at the amazement in the girl's voice.

When the girl was about to say something else, the entrance bell rang again.

"I'm sorry! I have to go!" she apologized before getting up and going to the entrance. "Good evening! Do you want to eat here or you want take out?"

"Take out, actually I would like to order a lot of food, is not a problem, right?"

"Not at all! Do you want to see the menu?"

"Yes, it would be great."

"Here it is, if you want you can take a seat, there's no problem."

"Thanks."

After a few minutes it was obvious that the girl wasn't going to sit again, so Keiji took out his phone again to return to the book he had been reading on the way."

When he was finishing reading the first paragraph, the girl came back, giving him with a bag full of boxes of food.

"It will be 49.56, we only accept cash, by the way."

"Keep the change," Keiji said, handing the girl three twenty-dollar bills. "Thank you, Happy Christmas Eve."

The young woman smiled in agreement.

"Happy Christmas Eve."

He took his food and headed to the exit as the bell rang for the second time.

And for the second time that day, his eyes met a pair of huge golden eyes.

"Akaashi?"

"Bokuto-san?"

Keiji mentally reviewed his outfit in his mind. Green joggers whose only purpose were to be worn at home, wine-colored military boots, a black jacket, and a gray beanie that luckily matched his scarf. Definitely, it was not the best outfit to meet the owner of his fantasies and dreams.

Damn his rotten luck and his pozole's cravings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you don't know what a white elephant game is, don't worry! I will explain it with more detail in the next chapter, you just need to know that it's a gift exchange game!
> 
> I hope you liked the chapter!
> 
> As always, kudos and comments are welcome! Really! if you want to ask something, say something or whatever... the comment box is just below here!
> 
> Happy Christmas Eve!!  
> Take care!


	5. The White Elephant Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He was sure Akaashi was a model.
> 
> It was not possible for someone to look so good in an outfit that obviously didn't had any kind of effort.
> 
> "Did you find someone to spend Christmas Eve with?" Asked the musician somewhat puzzled when he saw the amount of food that Akaashi had in his hands, after all Akaashi had seemed determined to spend the night alone.
> 
> Akaashi's cheeks colored slightly.
> 
> "Not really, I-I bought for this for myself..." murmured the raven, hiding part of his face under his scarf.
> 
> Koutarou wanted to turn around and crash his forehead against the door.
> 
> .
> 
> Bokuto scratched his temple, clearly embarrassed.
> 
> "I thought you wanted to avoid being with us while we exchanged gifts... Because well, you wouldn't have any gifts?"
> 
> Keiji smiled as he shook his head.
> 
> "It's not like I was going to expect a gift considering that I came to here unexpectedly, Bokuto-san."
> 
> "I know! But...!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the delay, but when I was going to publish the chapter I had better ideas for several scenes and I ended up rewriting the whole chapter. That is why I will also rewrite the next chapter, sorry, but I think I will end up publishing the December chapters in January. Please bear with me!
> 
> And well, enjoy, I laughed a lot rewriting the chapter!

He was sure Akaashi was a model.

It was not possible for someone to look so good in an outfit that obviously didn't had any kind of effort.

"Did you find someone to spend Christmas Eve with?" Asked the musician somewhat puzzled when he saw the amount of food that Akaashi had in his hands, after all Akaashi had seemed determined to spend the night alone.

Akaashi's cheeks colored slightly.

"Not really, I-I bought for this for myself..." murmured the raven, hiding part of his face under his scarf.

Koutarou wanted to turn around and crash his forehead against the door.

He had forgotten the fact that Akaashi appeared to be a glutton and had just pointed out the fact to the reporter.

"Koutarou! What are you doing at the door? Come! here!" exclaimed his brother-in-law, turning to see him before opening his eyes in surprise. "Oh! Is he your friend? Tell him to come sit down! I don't think they take long to give us the food! If you want, we can give you a ride..." Javier offered with a wink.

Because of course Javier was almost as bad at being discreet as himself and his sisters.

"Ah... I don't want to bother you," Akaashi muttered, alternating his gaze between Javier and Koutarou.

When Akaashi's eyes were on Javier, Koutarou shot his brother-in-law a pleading look, at which Javier nodded not very discreetly.

"Please! Don't worry! Come here! You're the one who gave Koutarou the list of open restaurants, right?" said the older one, getting up from his chair and walking towards the two young men at the entrance. "Come on, at least let us do something to thank you for saving our Christmas Eve dinner” he said taking the food from Akaashi's arms and kidnapping it to take it to the table.

Koutarou watched as Akaashi's shoulders stiffened before the raven started walking towards the table where Javier had sat down again.

"Ah... It was nothing, I just..."

"Nonsense, also... Eating this reminds me a lot of the Christmas Eve dinner that my family makes in Mexico," Javier declared with a smile. "By the way, I'm Javier, Koutarou's brother-in-law."

"Akaashi Keiji..."

"Nice to meet you, Akaashi."

"Likewise Javier-san."

"Wow, it's almost like talking to my in-laws when I first met them!" Javier exclaimed, smiling, letting silence settle for a moment.

"Do you celebrate these holidays in Mexico?" Akaashi asked suddenly.

Javier smiled from ear to ear.

"Obviously! These are one of my family's favorite holidays!"

Akaashi nodded before pulling something out of his jacket and placing it on the table.

"Excuse me, but I am a reporter for the Post ... And soon I will publish an article about these days, could I ask you some questions?"

Koutarou watched the scene in disbelief as he walked over to the table to sit next to Akaashi.

"Huh? Sure! But on one condition!" he declared smiling in a way that put every cell in Koutarou's body on alert.

"So... I can't give you money for the interview..."

His brother-in-law laughed heartily.

"I'm not talking about that! My condition is that you come to have dinner with us!” Both Akaashi and Koutarou tensed upon hearing that. "Come on don't make that face! I heard that Koutarou invited you to spend Christmas Eve with us when he asked for the restaurant list! No one should be alone tonight, so... why don't you join us? We will have the same dinner!"

Akaashi turned to see him clearly mortified and Koutarou understood. He himself had been the victim of his brother-in-law's convincing techniques.

After a few moments of silence, Akaashi finally nodded, causing Koutarou's heart to stop for a moment.

"Okay," he murmured opening a recording app on his Iphone.

"Perfect! What are your questions?"

Suddenly all the tension in Akaashi's body seemed to leave him, just as he pressed the button that appeared in the middle of his screen.

"Do you have plans for this evening?"

Both Javier and Koutarou smiled when they saw the professional side of Akaashi.

"My plan is have some Mexican food at the house of my wife's parents, who, by the way, are Japanese..."

.

"Come in, go ahead," Javier said, opening the door for Keiji to pass, carrying his bag of food. "Leave the food in the kitchen, if it's right there. Don't worry, we won't touch that bag, you can have it as breakfast tomorrow."

Suddenly Bokuto's alarmed voice rang out in the hall.

"Sorry Akaashi! But it will be better if you take off your shoes...!" the gray-haired boy began as Akaashi left the bag on a small table at the entrance with the intention of emptying his hands to untie his boots.

"Don't worry, Bokuto-san, that's what I planned to do," Keiji replied taking one of the indoor slippers that Javier had pointed out to him.

"You should also take off your jacket, the entrance is cold, but my wife and her sister teamed up to force my in-laws to turn on the heat."

Keiji tensed.

Under his jacket he wore an old sweatshirt from his favorite music group, it had seven years with him and it definitely had seen better days. The black sweater, which matched a little more with the green color of his joggers, was full loose strands, and while his other sweater that was in better condition, had the color of a neon orange highlighter, it was one sweater that he had sworn to never wear outside his home, and never wear it in front of someone that wasn't part of his close friends' group. Staying only in thermic shirt intended to be an undergarment wasn't an option either.

He gave a concerned look to Javier and Koutarou's clothes, paying attention to the clothes they had revealed when they took off their jackets. Javier wore a turtleneck sweater that he obviously only wore at important events and Koutarou wore a red jacket, a white button-down shirt and a perfectly knotted green tie.

He took another look at his own outfit, deciding that it was best to think of an excuse and get out of that place as soon as possible.

"Ah... Bokuto-san..."

"They finally arrived!" Shouted a young woman with the same eyes and hair as Bokuto. "You took too long!"

"It's not like there are many places to get a whole dinner on Christmas Eve, Lisa," Javier replied, handing the woman some of the bags.

"Well, at least we'll have something to eat, right?" Said the girl, taking her bags before dedicating Keiji with a surprised look. "Huh?"

"This is Akaashi!" Bokuto exclaimed quickly. "It's my friend who told us where we could find food! We met him at the restaurant, and Javier convinced him to have dinner with us!"

The golden-eyed girl smiled with her whole face.

"So you were our savior! I'm Lisa, Koutarou's older sister!"

"And the responsible of making us have Mexican food on Christmas Eve!" Exclaimed a woman very similar to Lisa, the biggest difference being a rather plump belly. "I am Megumi, the oldest sister and Javier's wife."

Akaashi wished he could disappear from that place in that moment.

"Akaashi Keiji..."

The two women shared a smile that genuinely intrigued the reporter, before taking food from the other two men and from the entrance table, then disappearing into a room to the left.

"Ah... Bokuto-san, Javier-san, I think this was not a good idea, it shouldn't be interrupting your dinner..." he started to say, starting to take a step back.

"Nonscence! Come on, come on!" Javier interrupted before walking towards the same place as the two women.

"Ah Bokuto-san, I'm sorry but I'm not dressed for the occasion, I'm sorry I didn't notice it earlier..." Keiji began, wishing his voice didn't sound as pleading as it did in his ears.

Bokuto blinked a couple of times in surprise before taking off his tie and jacket, placing them on the hamger, rolling up his shirt sleeves and untucking it from his jeans, revealing several wrinkles caused by the time the garment had been trapped under his pants.

"Ready!" Exclaimed the musician, smiling. Relax, you look very good, better than any other person could be seen dressed like that.

Keiji felt himself blush at the comment and thinking that he would probably regret it, he got rid of his scarf and beanie, being followed by his jacket and sweatshirt, then taking off his two sweaters and then putting the orange sweater back on.

"I knew you could wear more sweaters under those huge ones!" Exclaimed the one with gray hair helping him to hang his clothes. "By the way! I like that sweater! It's eye-catching!"

"Thank you," the raven muttered lowering his face in an attempt to prevent Bokuto from noticing that his blush had increased even more. He used his phone to check the state of his hair, which luckily was only slightly flattened, he ran his hands through it, tousling it a bit, before rearranging his bangs.

"How is it that someone can look so good in sportswear and just running his hands through his hair?" Lisa asked, walking past the hall with several plates in her arms.

"I have no idea," Bokuto replied before placing a hand on Keiij's shoulder and gently nudging him. "Let's eat."

He walked to where Bokuto indicated, asking himself how he had voluntarily ended up in that situation.

The warm hand on his shoulder gave him his answer.

.

"So why are you having dinner with us, Akaashi-kun?" Koutarou's mother asked with a kind and sweet voice but that he knew was hiding a sneaky aggressiveness.

The gray-haired young man bit his lip in anguish.

His mother obviously suspected that Akaashi was more than just a friend.

The problem was, Akaashi was really just a friend.

Even if Koutarou wished with all his being that both of them were more than friends.

Another problem was that he would probably be lucky if Akaashi was still his friend by the end of dinner.

"Bokuto-san and Javier-san insisted that I join their dinner," Akaashi replied with the same professional air that Koutarou had seen him use when he interviewed Javier at the restaurant.

The woman nodded slightly before taking a bite of her food, making an unobtrusive grimace of disgust as she tasted it.

"And what is the reason that you accepted their invitation? Didn't you have better plans?"

"Not really, my original plan was to pick up the food and go to my apartment and eat while watching some Christmas special at the TV"

"And why was that your plan to spend Christmas Eve? Don't you have family to spend it with?"

"My family has never celebrated these holidays, it is also a bit difficult to spend the night with them considering that they are in Japan."

Koutarou blinked somewhat in surprise at the fact that Akaashi could answer his mother's questions so calmly. He turned to see Megumi, who smirked at him.

"Oh! A fellow citizen" Exclaimed his aunt smiling, revealing a piece of food caught between her front teeth. "So you live here alone? Or do you live with a community? How long have you been here?"

"Aunt Makoto..." Megumi tried to intervene.

"I live here alone. I have lived here for seven years, when I started college."

"Oh? So you have a degree? In what?" Koutarou's aunt asked before taking another sip from her plate of pozole, making a face of disgust identical to that of his sister.

"In Literature with emphasis on political science."

"And how easy is it to meet the month's end with that career?" Koutarou's mother asked making the gray haired man tighten his grip on his spoon. His mother had decided to start direct attacks. Was she planning to scare Akaashi so that Koutarou wouldn't have a chance with him?

"Easier than you might believe," replied the raven with a calm worthy of admiration.

After that little exchange, the dinner continued somewhat quieter than usual, something Koutarou didn't know if he should try to maintain or try to fix. He glanced to Akaashi, who was eating pozole, careful not to stain his clothes with the broth.

"How did you meet Koutarou?" Koutarou's aunt suddenly asked as she pushed her plate forward, indicating that she would no longer eat.

Akaashi finished chewing and elegantly wiped his mouth before answering.

"At a Black Friday sale, we both wanted the same television," replied the black-haired man.

"Curious way to start a friendship," he said to the woman, emphasizing the word friendship.

Koutarou grunted a little.

"Do you know that Koutarou is bisexual?" Her mother suddenly asked, making everyone at the table turn to see her surprised.

Akaashi didn't answer anything for a few moments, to which Koutarou used to start to feel his limbs cool slightly.

"I did not know, although I am glad that you feel so comfortable with that as to tell someone who didn't need to know such a personal piece of information" replied the jet slowly, with a tone that Koutarou could not really distinguish. "I recommend that you be careful with that, many might find it inpolite to reveal something so private to others."

The musician couldn't help but smile when he saw the annoyance on his mother's face.

In an act of bravery that he probably would have questioned elsewhere, he took Akaashi's hand from under the table and gave it a light squeeze.

And he felt his heart pound as he felt Akaashi's hand squeeze back.

.

As soon as everyone started getting up from the table muttering something about starting to exchange their gifts, Keiji excused himself saying he was going to smoke, completely ignoring the fact that it might earn him a disapproving look from others.

Once he put his boots back on, he took out his pack of cigars and his pocket ashtray from his jacket and opened the front door, deciding to ignore the heavy rain that was falling, thaking the fact that the entrance of the house had a root that would protect him. Once outside, he felt a chill run through him, a sweater and a thermal shirt were not enough to keep him from being cold. Still, he decided not to go back for more clothes, after all he did not want them to be impregnated with the smell of the cigarette.

A small gust of wind pushed some of the rain towards him, causing his body to stiffen at the sudden chill.

For a moment he thought about returning to the warmth inside the Bokuto family's residence.

But he really needed that cigarette.

When he had consumed half a cigarette, the door to the hall opened.

"Hey! It's freezing here! Come in!'' Bokuto exclaimed without completely leaving the house. Keiji raised his hand a little, showing that he still hadn't finished his cigarette, causing Bokuto's eyes to widen. "Wait! Did you really went out to smoke?"

Keiji arched an eyebrow before raising the cigar to his lips and taking a long drag, then turned his face away from Bokuto and after a few moments blew out the smoke. Once that was done, he turned his face to see Bokuto again.

"Why would I say that I was going to smoke if I wasn't going to?"

Bokuto scratched his temple, clearly embarrassed.

"I thought you wanted to avoid being with us while we exchanged gifts... Because well, you wouldn't have any gifts?"

Keiji smiled as he shook his head.

"It's not like I was going to expect a gift considering that I came to here unexpectedly, Bokuto-san."

"I know! But...!"

"Don't worry, I just needed a cigarette."

Bokuto nodded before frowning.

"I never thought you were the kind of person who smokes."

Keiji shrugged.

"I'm trying to quit it, when I was in college, I think I smoked a pack a day... Two if it was at the end of terms" replied the journalist smiling sideways, remembering all the scolding he had suffered from his friends regarding that , including Osamu refusing to kiss him when he smoked.

"So that you've only smoked once in all this time is quite an achievement, right?" Bokuto asked with some mockery in his voice.

"A very big one considering the interrogation from mother I had there, Bokuto-san," Keiji joked, trying to make it clear that what he had just said was a joke.

Seeing the musician's expression, he realized that he hadn't succeeded.

"It's jok..."

"I'm sorry, if I had known that mom would do that I would have thought better of it before inviting you," said the boy.

Keiji turned to see his cigarette, he could still take a few more of it, but decided that he had enought of it. He reached out his hand that was holding it to the rain and once it was completely soaked he took his portable ashtray and threw what was left of the cigarette into it.

"Don't worry Bokuto-san, I think I understand that your mother behaved like this because she assumed I'm your partner, am I right?" Said the journalist, who when he saw the blush on Bokuto's cheeks smirked. "Bingo."

"I'm sorry..."

"You don't have to apologize, it's not your fault. Also, I don't think you had the intention of this happening when you invited me here."

"Of course not! I just didn't want you to spend Christmas Eve alone!"

Keiji felt his lips curve slightly upward.

"And I thank you very much for that, I had been spending Christmas Eve alone for two years," replied the black-haired man.

"Don't you think it would have been better if you had spend the night alone rather than suffering an interrogatory?"

Keiji shrugged.

"I don't know, I think the night can improve, if you want me to stay a little longer..."

Bokuto's eyes seemed to shine in that instant.

"Yes! Of course! I promise the rest of the night will be better!"

Keiji had no idea why he had said that, after all, he knew that with the awkward interrogatory from Bokuto's mother he had obtained the best excuse to leave without being rude or getting some reproach from Bokuto or his family.

"I don't doubt it for a second, Bokuto-san," Keiji said as he walked into the house.

Bokuto put his arm around the journalist's shoulders, making him enter faster.

"You're frozen! And wet!"

"It is the price I pay for having this addiction"

"You know? If I'm honest I don't see what the point of smoking is, ” Bokuto muttered as Keiji took off his boots.

"Me neither."

Bokuto blinked clearly confused by his answer.

"Huh? So why do you do it?"

The raven shrugged.

"I don't know, I started smoking in high school, everyone did it and I suppose I saw it as something normal, it was quite difficult to continue smoking when I began to live here" said the black-haired boy smiling when he remembered how in Japan the employees of the convinience stores paid no attention to the fact that a boy in a high school uniform bought cigarettes. "I had to pay my neighbors to buy cigarettes for me..."

Bokuto's laugh echoed through the hall.

.

"Hey! You two! Come! We were waiting for you!" Lisa exclaimed as she came out of the kitchen with a huge slice of cake.

Koutarou arched an eyebrow, skeptical.

"Oh yeah? Why were you waiting for us? To eat half a cake in a single slice?"

Lisa frowned.

"FYI, there is still plenty of cake! But now that you said that... teh rest is mine too!" the girl shouted before entering the living room, leaving the two boys alone and laughing.

"Lisa! You can't eat the whole cake by yourself!'' Koutarou's mother exclaimed.

"Watch me!"

Koutarou chuckled at the exchange between his mother and sister, before giving Akaashi a sideways glance, who's eyes were wide.

"Is it normal for them to talk like this?"

"They talk like this all the time," Megumi's voice answered, coming out of the kitchen with a piece of cake as big as the one on Lisa's plate.

"Dammit! Is there anything left for me and Akaashi?” He asked worriedly before running to the kitchen, finding that there was less than a third of the cake Megumi made. "Hey! Go ate almost the whole cake” He complained before cutting two large pieces and leaving the kitchen with the two plates. "Here, I was going to ask you if you wanted cake, like in a few minutes, because I thought you might not want to eat cake after smoking... But if I didn't cut our slices my sisters would eat the whole cake..."

Akaashi smiled accepting the cake before following him into the living room, where the rest of his family were sitting, each with a few gifts near them.

"Don't any of you know how to moderate your sugar intake?" Asked Koutarou's mother, who now wore the scarf that Koutarou had given her around her neck.

Koutarou growled before smirking.

"Not really, I suppose it has to do with the fact that you didn't let us eat anything with sugar as children," Megumi replied smiling before pointing to the empty seats on the sofa were she was sitting. "Now can we start this game now?"

Koutarou smiled before placing his hand on Akaashi's shoulder, nudging him to walk over to where his sister had indicated them to sit.

"What do you think of the cake?," Megumi whispered to Akaashi, who tilted his head, confused.

"It's a cake that Javier taught her to make, it's Tres Leches, so that's why it's soaked," Koutarou explained as he watched Javier place the gifts that everyone had brought for the white elephant game on the coffee table.

Akaashi nodded before taking a bite of cake to his mouth, his eyes widening in surprise.

"It's sweet but ... I don't feel like I'm eating a spoonful of sugar ..." the raven muttered before turning to see Megumi and smiling. "It is very tasty."

Megumi smiled from side to side.

"I'm glad to hear that, Akaashi."

Koutarou was about to add something to the conversation when Javier spoke.

"Good! So who has not played this before?" Javier asked.

"I think you know that only the two of us haven't played this before, Javier," Koutarou's aunt replied.

The musician noticed that Akaashi was quite focused on eating his cake, so he decided to ask him directly.

"Have you played this before?"

The journalist turned to see him confused.

"Huh? Well... no, but I won't play... I didn't bring any presents..." the boy began to murmur before being cut off by Lisa.

"Oh don't worry! Dad won't play because he says he would rather see others make a fool of themself than he make a fool of himself!

"But... The money..."

"Easy, Akaashi-kun, I won't get any poorer for two gifts for a game," Koutarou's father intervened.

Koutarou turned to see his father, who gave him a discreet smile.

He knew that was a low-key way of wanting to make up for the way his mother had acted.

"Well the rules are simple," Javier said as he placed a Christmas mug in front of Lisa. "Each one will drag a number two times and we will begin to take gifts in the order of the numbers. When everyone has a number I will continue explaining."

Koutarou took two papers from the cup that his brother-in-law had handed him and opened them immediately.

A four and a twelve.

The musician smiled, those were good numbers, four would let him catch up quickly with the opportunity to steal and twelve would let him steal whatever gift he wanted for being one of the lastest.

"What numbers do you have?" He asked Akaashi who, like him, had opened the papers to see their numbers. He craned his neck to see Akaashi's turns, but Akaashi's number were hidden from view.

"Javier-san didn't say anything about knowing the others' turns," said the black-haired boy in a mocking tone. "Don't cheat."

"Yeah, Koutatou! Cheater!"

Koutarou rolled his eyes and smirked.

"You just won an enemy, Akaashi," Koutarou declared.

"I don't think I have much to worry about, Bokuto-san," challenged the black-haired boy.

The staring contest was cut off by Javier's voice.

"OK! Who has number one?"

"Me!" Megumi exclaimed smiling.

"Well, I know you know how to play this but I'll explain it anyway," Javier said. "Megumi will take a gift from the table. Who has the number two?" He asked as his wife looked one by one at the gifts that were on the table.

"That would be me," Akaashi said showing the piece paper with a number two.

"Well, you have two options, you can take a gift from the table, or you can steal Megumi's gift," the man explained at the same time that Megumi finally took an elongated box wrapped in green paper with gold stripes, at which Javier frowned. "Please don't take the gift that you brought yourself! That will take the fun out of the game! Megumi! Take another gift!"

The woman grumbled something that no one understood before taking a red box wrapped in a large silver bow.

Akaashi reached out his arm and took a wrapped gift from Besbuy.

Just the gift that Koutarou had bought.

"Good! Who has the number three?"

"That would be me," said Koutarou's mother, "could you pass me your gift, Megumi?"

Megumi grunted something before handing the gift to the woman, who was smiling clearly satisfied.

"Well there was a robbery! So in order that this game doesn't take too long, each gift can be stolen a maximum of three times! The fourth person to have the gift will definitely get it! The game will end when everyone has two gifts!

"Since mom stole my gift, I'll take another one," Megumi added before taking a box wrapped in brown paper, which Koutarou recognized as the gift she had collected from the pottery shop.

He cast a sideways glance at Lisa, who returned her gaze with an air of mischief.

The best thing was that Megumi kept that gift.

"Exactly, if the gift is stolen, you must take another. They can also steal back the gift that was taken from them, as long as the gift hasn't been stolen three times you can take it back. "Who has the four?"

Koutarou showed his turn.

"I'm sorry Akaashi, but I'll take that nice package," said the gray haired boy smiling from side to side.

Akaashi handed him the gift with a frown.

"Can I have another?" Asked the journalist.

"Yes, you can steal one or take a new one," Javier said.

The black-haired man leaned forward and began to inspect the gift boxes, until he took out a golden bag.

"OK, what about the five? Who has it?"

"That would be me, again," Akaashi said holding his gift in one hand and the paper with the number five in the other.

"Oh my, if you're lucky you'll keep your gifts" Megumi said, smiling sideways.

Akaashi nodded before taking the other Bestbuy box from the table.

"I have the six," Koutarou's aunt said showing her paper and getting up to take the biggest box of all. The box containing the thongs he had bought at Victoria's Secret. "Oh, this feels heavy,” the woman muttered, smirking.

"Well the seven is me," Javier said before taking the Bestbuy box from Koutarou's hands, "I'm sorry," he added smiling.

"I'm the one who's sorry," Koutarou declared before taking the gift from Javier's hands again. "And this would be the third robbery, so this baby stays with me.” The gray haired one declared smiling from side to side.

There was no way those headphones would be stolen.

"May I remind you that it may not be from Bestbuy and it is just a package with a bad gift inside?" Megumi asked, smiling sideways. "I hope it is a knitting kit."

"If it's a knitting kit I'll watch a Youtube tutorial and make you a hideous sweater! And I'll use that scratchy wool to make it" Koutarou replied, smiling sideways.

"Well, then I'll take this one," Javier said, taking a gift from the table. "Who is the eight?"

"Me," Lisa said before taking the golden box from Akaashi's hands.

Akaashi frowned, causing Koutarou to suppress a laugh.

For someone who had second thoughts to play, he was taking the game very seriously.

.

Keiji had to hold back a groan as he handed over the gift he had managed to obtain.

For the fifth time.

Lisa smiled as she took the black package.

"Come on Akaashi, steal one from my mother or Aunt Makoto," Megumi said with a laugh.

Keiji shrugged before nodding.

"Excuse me, could you give me the gift of the silver bow? - asked the raven.

The woman grumbled a bit before handing Keiji the biggest box of all.

He felt Bokuto stiffen next to him.

"A-Akaashi..."

"You should have thought about stealing that one instead of mine, Bokuto-san," the journalist murmured, satisfied with himself that he had taken that gift.

"Come on Haru, give me the green bag," Bokuto's aunt said, stealing the gift from her sister.

"Hmm, Akaashi-kun, could you give me the small bag?" Bokuto's mother asked, smiling sideways.

It was the sixth time a gift was stolen.

Keiji turned to see the three gifts that were still on the table before shaking his head and looking at Megumi.

"Could you give me the small gift?" He asked before Megumi gave him a much heavier gift than he expected. "Oh”nhe muttered.

"OK, who's the twelve?"

"That's me," Bokuto said smiling before taking a long box from the table.

"And I'm thirteen..."

"Wait! I forgot it! I want Akaashi's big box!'' Bokuto exclaimed, putting the long box on the table again and extending his hand to Keiji.

Keiji smirked.

"I don't think you can do that, Bokuto-san, you should have taken it off when it was your turn," the declared the journalist with some amusement.

"Javier still hasn't taken his gift! I can still steal yours! Right?"

Everyone present began to laugh, including Bokuto's mother, who without the permanent serious look on her face looked very much like her children.

Keiji felt his lips curl upwards.

"Come on, Kou! Don't cheat!” Megumi exclaimed. "Keep your gift and let us end this game."

Koutarou muttered something that no one understood and took the box back from the table.

Javier took another gift from the table.

"And I'm fourteen," Bokuto's aunt declared before getting up and taking the gift from the journalist's hands. "Sorry, but I think this is the best gift."

Keiji smirked once the woman had taken her seat beside her sister.

"I also believe that, excuse me," said the young man before getting up and standing in front of the woman, "but would you return me the gift?"

The woman laughed heartily before handing the gift to Keiji.

"I like your confidence, Akaashi-kun," said the woman before getting up and taking the last gift from the table. "It's about time for this to end ”she declared.

"Then everyone can open their presents!"

Everyone started unwrapping the presents except Bokuto, making Keiji think that the musician was really interested in the gift. The reporter smiled slightly, deciding that once the presents were opened he would give the gift to Bokuto.

After all, he hadn't brought any gifts for the game.

He looked for the place where the tape that joined the paper was located and carefully peeled it off, so he could unwrap the paper with care.

"Come on Akaashi, don't be so careful! Just break it!” Lisa exclaimed as she opened one of the gifts she had gotten which contained a set of Star Wars-themed whiskey glasses. "Oh! This is a good one! Who buy it?"

"Was that me? Or was it you?" Javier asked his wife while Keiji finished undoing the wrapping.

Carefully he removed the tape that joined the lids of the box, feeling like next to him Bokuto tensed a little more.

"Relax, Bokuto-san, I'll share it with you" Keiji said giving Bokuto a small smile before opening the covers.

When he saw the inside of the box, he couldn't help but freeze for a moment.

So that was the reason why Bokuto had been so tense.

Inside the box were two bricks wrapped in newspapers and a small package wrapped in pink paper like the one that had decorated the black and pink bag that Bokuto had shown him that afternoon. Even if he hadn't known what Bokuto had bought, the bold color of the lace made it quite obvious what the gift was.

"What is it, Akaashi-kun?" Asked Bokuto's aunt.

"A-Ah ... I-It's ... underwear," Keiji managed to mutter.

Lisa walked over to him and looked inside the gift, before laughing.

"Is it what I think it is? God! Who was it?" exclaimed the woman laughing, bringing her hand to the underwear wrapped in pink paper. "May l?"

"Lisa! Drop it!'' Bokuto exclaimed.

"A-Ah..."

Taking Keiji's hesitation as a yes, Lisa took the small package and undid it, revealing three lace thongs, a black one, a navy one, and a gray one.

At least the colors were within Keiji's favorite colors.

"Look aunt! Akaashi stole a very good gift from you!" Exclaimed the doctor, showing the woman the clothes.

The woman smirked.

"I must say that colors suit better Akaashi-kun," the woman replied with a certain hint of mockery in her voice.

.

Koutarou didn't dare take his eyes off Akaashi.

For a moment, for a small moment, he had believed that his aunt would be the one who would get the gift and that everything would turn out as planned. But no, the box laid open on Akaashi's legs and Lisa was showing the thongs whose colors he had selected thinking of him.

"You have such a good luck," Megumi whispered at his ear. "By the way, I'm glad to know that you have good taste in lingery."

Koutarou rolled his eyes.

"Here, enjoy them Akaashi," said Lisa, returning the thongs to Akaashi, who immediately took the clothes and placed them back in the box.

"And I thought you wanted the gift," Akaashi said with a somewhat stressed voice.

"I'm sorry, when I bought that I thought someone in my family would get them, not you," said the musician. "But thank you for offering to share the gift” he added, noticing how Akaashi blushed slightly. Suddenly he understood the interpreatition that Akaashi had probably taken. "I did not meant that!"

Deciding to not embarass himself even more, he opened his gifts, as he felt the journalist carefully open the wrapping of his other gift.

As he looked at the headphones that he himself had bought a few hours earlier and a set of kitchen towels, which had probably been the work of his mother or father, he heard Akaashi opening the box. He turned to see the boy, who's sea-colored eyes became wide as he saw the content of the gift, while an intense blush took over his face.

Worried, he approached to see the contents of the box, feeling his face blush as well.

Lisa's laught filled the room, and it was clear thar she knew perfectly what was in the box that Koutarou had collected a few hours before from the pottery shop.

Megumi and Javier came over to see what was causing the commotion.

"Lisa! This time you outdid yourself!'' Megumi exclaimed laughing nervously, clearly torn between laughing out loud like her sister or apologizing to Akaashi.

Bokuto's parents and aunt came over to see the contents of the gift, showing their surprise in various degrees. Koutarou's father simply widened his eyes before shaking his head and walking away; his mother frowned, clicked her tongue and muttered something like 'disrespect her home like that'; and her aunt laughed maliciously.

Koutarou was sure that after that Akaashi would tell him that it would be best not to go out the next day for that coffee.

"Sorry, Akaashi, but I think the white elephant game is not your thing" Javier said, laughing discreetly.

The musician vowed to himself that he was never going to ask anyone to play that again in his life.

"I-I guess this is k-karma," Akaashi hesitated, whose blush didn't seem willing to go away, "for having p-participated without bringing a g-gift."

Koutarou turned to see the contents of the gift that was the final stroke to his chances with Akaashi.

A huge, and roughly done ceramic dildo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you think? I play the White Elephant game with my friends at the holiday parties that we make and we always end up enjoying more the game than the gifts. We usually play it like I put it in this chapter, with one good gift and one bad gift, but it's also fun to play it with only bad gifts! If one day you end up playing it tell me how it went!
> 
> Regarding the attitude of Bokuto's mother, I used as a model a friend's strict mother, I tried to represent her as someone serious, somewhat closed-minded (like not fully accepting that Bokuto is gay) and strict, but that regardless of whether she agrees with her children's decisions she loves them (which we can see when she wears the scarf that Bokuto gave her). I wanted it that way because it is important to remember that not all families are perfect but that despite disagreements they can love each other. I know that is not always the case, but I like to think that it can happen.
> 
> As always, kudos and comments are welcome!  
> Remember that any question, criticism, comment, etc. is welcome and that you can put them in the box below!
> 
> Happy Holidays!! Take care! ♥


	6. An open Starbucks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _"Hey, Keij, Kita-san told us that he saw you this afternoon. I know it's been a long time without us talking, but I still wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas. I hope you didn't spend it alone and had something decent to eat."_
> 
> _"My offer to be friends still stands. I hope one day you accept it, take care Keiji."_
> 
> _"Rin and Tsumu say Merry Christmas."_
> 
> Keiji frowned.
> 
> .
> 
> They continued to check the clothes in Koutarou's closet until he heard that the door of his apartment was opened violently, then a series of hurried footsteps were heard that went to his room, seconds later Lisa was in front of him.
> 
> "Did Megumi give you some options? Good" declared the woman approaching the bed and checking the outfits that Megumi had made him put on the bed. If he was honest, none of the outfits felt quite right, all seemed more appropriate for a workday than to go for a coffee with Akaashi. "Well, all those outfits are what you won't wear" suddenly said the doctor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, this was going to be a single chapter, but as always, I wrote too much... so I decided to split the Christmas chapter in two.  
> I don't think that the next chapter is going to be very long, but I really liked the end that I used for this one  
> I hope it doesn't take me too long to write the next chapter.
> 
> And well, happy New Year! I hope you have a nice start of the year and that your year is full of success and good health.
> 
> Without more to say, I hope you enjoy the chapter.

Keiji woke up unusually early to be his day off, he wasn't sure what time it was, the cloudy sky didn't help him at all to calculate what time it was, but he was almost certain it was before noon. He remained covered by a large number of blankets for a few minutes, listening to how messages accumulated on his phone, probably all of them were from his friends. He closed his eyes trying to fall asleep again, but the task was practically impossible due to the messages that came over and over again.

Damn the moment he hadn't turned off his phone before sleeping.

Deciding that it was best to take the device and at least mute it, he left the warmth of his bed and ran to the other side of the room, where he had left his Iphone before sleeping. Once he took his phone, he ran back to his bed and covered himself as quickly as possible.

He checked the screen, discovering that the messages weren't just from his friends.

_"HoesHoesHoes: 76 messages"_

_"Bokuto-san: 9 messages"_

_"Unknown number: 3 messages"_

He frowned wondering about what unknown number would send him three messages on December 25th. He decided to not think to much about it, probably someone had got the wrong number and had mistakenly texted him.

He decided that he would first check the messages of the chat he had with his friends, then he would notify the unknown number that he had got the wrong number, and finally he would see the messages from Bokuto.

His heart raced at the thought of the gray-haired man as he opened the app and entered the chat with more messages. He went through the messages until he got to the oldest one, sent at dawn.

_Yaku-san: "Merry Christmas guys!"_

_Yaku-san: "Lev's an idiot and can't stand alcohol so he's hungover"_

These messages were followed by a series of photographs showing Yaku and Haiba in different parts of Tokyo, most of them covered in snow and Christmas lights.

_Iwaizumu-san: "Merry Christmas, make sure he drinks lots of water and some sports drink with high levels of minerals"_

_Oikawa-san: "Iwa-chan! Why don't you worry about me like that when I'm hungover?"_

_Oikawa-san: "Merry Christmas!"_

_Iwaizumi-san: "Because unlike you, I do care about Haiba"_

_Oikawa-san: "Iwa-chan!"_

_Sugawara-san: "You say it like you're not going to fuck him in a few hours"_

_Sugawara-san: "By the way, Merry Christmas"_

Several photos of Oikawa followed the little exchange, showing him dressed in a plaid suit. In some of them he was cutting a glazed ham, in others he was serving food, and in others he was sitting in the living room with his father, the latter being evidence that Oikawa's mother had been responsible for taking those photos.

_Daichi-san: "Merry Christmas, so, we'll see you today at Oikawa's?"_

_Oikawa-san: "You better! I have everything ready!"_

Another series of photos of Oikawa showed that their house was decorated and ready to receive them in a few hours.

He quickly went through the irrelevant messages, which ranged from overused emojis (courtesy of Oikawa) and different pictures from Sugawara and Daichi, showing them Sugawara's parents' dogs and some pictures from their trip back to New York.

Once he finished reading all the messages, he decided it was time to send his.

_"Merry Christmas, see you in a few hours"_

_"Is at Oikawa's like at 5 right?"_

That done, he went on to the conversation with the unknown number.

_"Hey, Keij, Kita-san told us that he saw you this afternoon. I know it's been a long time without us talking, but I still wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas. I hope you didn't spend it alone and had something decent to eat."_

_"My offer to be friends still stands. I hope one day you accept it, take care Keiji."_

_"Rin and Tsumu say Merry Christmas."_

Keiji frowned.

He knew that the messages shouldn't surprise him at all, after all he had told Kita to say hello to everyone himself and Osamu had tried to keep in touch with him once they had ended their relationship. It was probably about time to let go his little drama and stop avoiding his ex.

_"I had dinner at a friend's house and for your information I had pozole for dinner. Please tell Atsumu-san and Suna-san that I wish them a Merry Christmas"_

_"Merry Christmas Myaa-sam"_

He closed the conversation immediately, he wasn't going to wait for Osamu's reply.

While he was willing to stop avoiding his ex-boyfriend, that didn't mean he would start looking up for him or get his hopes up.

The chat with Bokuto now marked eleven unread messages.

_"Akaashi! Good morning!"_

_"Merry Christmas!"_

_"Sorry about yesterday's game!"_

_"Believe me, I never thought you would get the gift I brought!"_

_"And I never thought Lisa would dare to bring that to a family dinner!"_

_"I know you said there was no problem. But please don't hate me!"_

_"Ah... the coffee offer still stands."_

_"I found an open Starbucks."_

_"Would you still like to go for coffee?"_

_"Akaashi?"_

_"Now you hate me, right?"_

Considering that Bokuto's last message had arrived a couple of minutes ago, he assumed it was safe to call him.

At the second ring, Bokuto's voice was heard.

 _"Akaashi! Hey! Hi!"_ greeted the musician, whose voice sounded a bit nervous.

"Hi, Bokuto-san. I was going to reply to your texts, but I figured it would be better to call you" declared the black haired man smiling to himself. "I see that the coffee offer is still on the table."

The sound of something crashing against something hard was heard on the other end of the line.

_"Shit!"_

"Is everything OK, Bokuto-san?"

 _"Ah! Yeah! Sure! Hey...! So you still want to go for that coffee? Found an open Starbucks!"_ exclaimed the boy on the other end of the line.

Keiji felt his lips curl up.

"Sure. Where is that Starbucks?"

_"On Franklin Avenue! Between Easter Parkway and Lincoln Place! It is in front of the Franklin Av/Easter Pkwy bus stop, I can send you the location if you want..."_

The journalist made a mental map of the streets, remembering the cafeteria in the instant.

"Don't worry, Bokuto-san, I know where it is."

 _"Great! Do you want to meet there? I can go to your apartment and then go there together...! Not that I want to go to your apartment! Not that I don't want to...! I just...!"_ Bokuto started saying without finishing saying any of his ideas. _"You could shut me up, you know? That way I wouldn't make a fool of myself..."_

Keiji couldn't stop a laugh from escaping his chest.

It was very easy to laugh with Bokuto.

"If it did it wouldn't be this funny" Keiji scoffed. "But don't worry, I'll see you there."

_"Great!" See you there!"_

"Bokuto-san, don't you forget something?"

_"Huh?"_

"When will we meet?"

_"Ah! Like in half an hour?"_

Keiji bit his lip, doubting.

"Would you mind if we meet in an hour? Ah... I just woke up, and I need to get ready..."

_"Did I wake you up with my texts?"_

"No, I woke up because my friends texts flooding the chat we have."

_"OK! So, see you in an hour?"_

"See you in an hour, Bokuto-san."

_"Don't forget to wear boots! And your umbrella!"_

Keiji laughed again.

"The same goes to you."

It was Bokuto's turn to laugh.

_"See ya!"_

"See ya."

He ended the call, noticing how there were two new messages in the chat called _"HoeHoeHoes"_.

_Oikawa-san: "You can get there earlier if you want Akaa-chan"_

_Oikawa-san: "Iwa-chan is already here."_

Keiji shook his head before answering.

_"No thanks, I don't want to interrupt you like in college"_

_Oikawa-san: "It was only once! And it was your fault for opening the door without a warning!"_

_"And I still refuse to sit in your dinning table."_

.

Koutarou ran to his closet as soon as the screen marked that the call was over.

For a few agonizing minutes, he searched through his closet for a decent shirt, before giving up and sending a message to his sisters.

_"I'll see Akaashi in an hour for coffee."_

_"I need help, like ASAP"_

_"I don't know what to wear."_

The texts from his sisters came inmediately.

_Stupid Doctor: "I'm going there right now"_

_Stupid Doctor: "I'll be there in ten."_

_Megumi: "Make me a damn videocall, we'll see options."_

Koutarou smiled before going to his older sister's contact and initiating the video call.

"Done, " he said when he saw his sister's face on the screen. The young woman had her hair braided and her face was covered with a blue mud mask, the same one that Koutarou had worn a few times when he had movie nights with his sisters.

 _"God! Kou! I need more details! How come he accepted a coffee date after yesterday's dinner?"_ asked the woman. _"Show me your clothes dumbass!"_ The musician rolled his eyes before selecting the other camera of the phone. _"Let's see, is that the blue shirt Tsukki gave you for your birthday? Put it on your bed."_

"Megumi, it's freezing, I don't think a shirt..."

 _"You asked for my help, right? Now shut up and listen to me. Hmm... Show me that shirt, the one with the black sleeve"_ said the woman, who, when she saw the Jurassic Park logo on the front, clicked her tongue. _"Forget it, leave it there."_

They continued to check the clothes in Koutarou's closet until he heard that the door of his apartment was opened violently, then a series of hurried footsteps were heard that went to his room, seconds later Lisa was in front of him.

"Did Megumi give you some options? Good" declared the woman approaching the bed and checking the outfits that Megumi had made him put on the bed. If he was honest, none of the outfits felt quite right, all seemed more appropriate for a workday than to go for a coffee with Akaashi. "Well, all those outfits are what you won't wear" suddenly said the doctor.

_"Huh? What do you mean Lisa?"_

"And hang up, Megumi will only bother us" she ordered to the younger smirking. "Thanks for your help, Megumi, bye."

Koutarou smirked.

"Thank you, Megumi, Lisa will help me from now on..."

_"Kou! Don't you dare! You know...!"_

The video call with Megumi had lasted 11 minutes and 43 seconds.

"I must give some credit to Megumi, her outfits are nice, but they are too much for a coffee" Lisa said while looking for clothes in the closet Koutarou. "Also, he accepted to go out with you when you were wearing some sweats at Bestbuy and hel already saw you playing at the bar, I don't think you'll need to dress up for him."

Koutarou smiled as he put back in the wardrobe the clothes that he had taken out on Megumi's orders, thinking that he liked those outfits. He would probably use them when he came back to work at the next year.

"How about this?" asked Lisa suddenly showing him a mustard colored sweatshirt and a pair of blue jeans. "Wear that parka that you have at the door's coathanger and a pair of nice boots."

Koutarou visualized the outfit in his mind before nodding.

"Thanks" he said before taking out a thermal shirt, a black T-shirt with the Stranger Things logo and his jeans, before going to the bathroom.

As he checked that the water was at a comfortable temperature, he heard Lisa yelling at him from the other side of the door.

"I'm leaving! You better give me all the details about that coffee! said the doctor.

.

While Keiji decided which scarf would looked best with the sweater he was wearing, he checked his phone, noticing how he still had half an hour to get to the coffee shop. Deciding that the blue scarf would be better with her gray sweater, he took the corresponding hat and gloves and left his room. Once in the living room, he checked that everything was in place and went to the entrance, where he put on a coat and his boots, put his umbrella under his arm, and tried to open the lock of his door, without much success.

He put his keys on the floor and then fought against the metal door, finally being able to open it.

He closed the door and did not bother to lock it. It had been very difficult to open it from the inside, it would be much more difficult to open it from the outside.

Also the restaurant would be closed that day. There was no way to enter the building without a key.

He went down the steps, and instead of going out thru the restaurant door, as he usually did, he went out the heavy door of the emergency exit.

As he walked to the bus stop, under the protection of his yellow umbrella, he never thought about the keys that were on the floor of appartment.

.

Koutarou was responding to the messages of his conversation with Kuroo and Tsukishima when he noticed that the bus of the B45 line stopped in front of him. As expected, Akaashi got off the bus, as beautiful as he remembered. He quickly texted his friends that he had no problem playing on December 31st and that they might as well rehearse that afternoon or the next day.

When he looked up, his eyes met Akaashi's sea-colored eyes.

He walked to the corner and let the journalist cross the street.

"Merry Christmas, Akaashi, " greeted the golden-eyed man.

"Merry Christmas, Bokuto-san"replied Akaashi while he took a step back so their umbrellas didn't hit each other. "I see you found an open Starbucks."

Koutarou smiled before indicating the place with his head.

"Yes, the only one open in Brooklyn, shall we go in?" Asked the musician, receiving a slight smile from Akaashi as the raven began to walk towards the entrance.

Once inside the coffee shop, they went to the line that led to the counter.

"Do you know what you'll order?" asked Koutarou while watching the menu, wondering if it would be better to order a regular hot white chocolate, or one of the seasonal versions, the one with peppermint or the toasted version.

"Yeah, actually my coffee isn't complicated, and I don't prepare it in many ways" explained the journalist, smirking.

Koutarou remembered the coffee that his brunnette friend had ordered a month ago at the bagel shop.

"Let me guess, dark and strong?" asked Koutarou smiling.

Akaashi's eyes widened, unable to hide his surprise.

" Something like that," Akaashi murmured blushing slightly.

Koutarou took that blush as his second victory of the day.

Once they were in front of a smiling barista whose nameplate said _"Thomas"_ Koutarou decided what to order.

"Good day, welcome to Starbucks, do you know what to order?"

"I would like a peppermint hot white chocolate" said Koutarou smiling.

The barista nodded.

"What size?"

"Ah, venti, please."

"Do you want some whipped cream?"

"Oh, yeah"

"Your name?"

Koutarou thought which name they were least likely to mispronounce.

"Bokuto" he said emphasizing each syllable.

"OK, what about you?" he asked the barista, now focusing on Akaashi.

"For me would be a dark roast coffee with six shots of espresso" said the journalist, surprising the barista and surprising Koutarou a bit.

"Huh? O-OK, what size would it be?"

"Grande."

"Eh, I probably will have to use a Venti cup, it would be an extra charge of one dollar..."

"No problem" the musician intervened smiling.

Akaashi nodded as his cheeks reddened again.

"Oh, do you want us to add some milk, whipped cream or flavor shot?"

"No thanks."

"Your name?"

"Keiji" replied Akaashi, getting a funny look Bokuto. "It's easier than Akaashi" he explained.

Koutaroy smiled as he handed the barista the money, then walked alongside Akaashi in search of a table.

"I must say that I am somewhat offended that you're at first name basis with the baristas while I call you by your last name" joked Koutarou once they found a table.

"I'm sorry, but it's that or hear some mutilated version of my last name."

"Is that so bad?"

Keiji chuckled slightly as he took off his maroon coat and placed it on the armrest.

"Agashi, Asachi, Arachi, Akachi" listed the raven while counting with his fingers the mispronunciations of his last name. "If I'm honest, it's not so bad when they call me Akachi, it sounds a lot like Akaashi..."

"Bokuto, Keiji" called a female voice, indicating that their beverages were ready.

"I'll go" said Koutarou smiling as he walked to the pick up part of the counter, where a number of to-go cups formed a line.

He went through the names of the drinks until he came across the two that he assumed were his. He smiled when he saw how the names were written.

 _"Vocuto"_ and _"Keychi"_

"I would never have imagined that your name could be written like this" Koutarou said as he handed the cup to Akaashi, who started laughing when he saw how his name was written. If hearing Akaashi's laugh was nice, seeing him laughing was beautiful, the way his eyes closed, the way he covered his mouth, and the way his shoulders shrugged a bit.

He was defenitily madly in love with that boy he had almost just met.

"This is new, it just got to the first place in the way in how they have mutilated my name" said the raven taking his cup from Koutarou's hand.

When he sat down, he sipped his hot chocolate, feeling the comforting warmth of the drink, the sweetness of white chocolate, and the freshness of mint. It was a strange mix, but he really liked it. When he saw that Akaashi was going to take a drink of his coffee, he focused his eyes on him, being surprised to see that the black haired man did not make any sign of disgust due to the bitterness of the drink.

"How do you do that?"

"Huh?"

"Drink that, like it was water" he said pointing to the cup in Akaashi's hand.

Akaashi shrugged.

"If you study a master's degree you will understand."

"I don't think you drink coffee just because your studies," the gray-haired boy replied, arching an eyebrow.

The journalist smirked.

"You are right, but it is a good excuse" said the boy. "I usually tell that to my friends."

A pleasant silence took over for a few moments before Koutarou spoke again.

"Then, you won't tell me? How did you acquire that inhuman ability to drink coffee?"

Akaashi took a sip of his coffee before speaking.

"It's one of the few things that bound me to my father" said the raven.

Koutarou tensed, he didn't mean to touch a sensitive subject.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know..."

The raven raised a hand in front of him, indicating to Koutarou not to continue.

"Relax, Bokuto-san, my father is perfectly healthy, I regret that my comment made you think something different" said the black haired boy, causing Koutarou relax at the moment. "You see, I'm not very close to my family, never have been, but the few things that my father and I agreed on was coffee, the stronger the better."

Koutarou nodded before taking another sip of his hot chocolate.

"Unbeliveable."

"I guess you don't drink coffee, do you?"

Then he remembered Kuroo's phrase to describe Kenma.

"I like my coffee the way I like my man, the sweeter the better, " he recited, remembering how Kenma scrunched his face in displeasure when hearing his boyfriend say that.

Seeing Akaashi's eyes widen, he understood what he had just said.

"B-But I-I actually don't d-drink coffee, I prefer h-ho-hot c-chocolate" he said wanting to bang his head against the table, then noticing that the comment hadn't helped at all. "I-I mean... I-I don't like t-the bitterness of c-coffee..."

Again Akaashi's laughter flooded Bokuto's mind.

"Calm down, Bokuto-san, I understand you, you don't drink coffee and you're gay, " said the journalist.

Koutarou smirked.

" So my mother couldn't fool you, " said the gray-haired boy.

Akaashi shook his head.

"It seemed to me that your mother followed the same logic as my parents, " said the raven. "You had a girlfriend before, so you can't be gay because you like women, so you're bisexual... So at least they still hope to see you with a wife one day..." he explained, resting his head on his hand smirking. "Am I wrong?"

"Not at all, so your parents don't accept that you're... gay?"

Akaashi nodded and Koutarou felt his chest swell with joy.

Akaashi was gay.

"Not really, another reason why we're not close."

"I'm very sorry to hear it."

Akaashi shrugged.

"At this point it doesn't make much difference, living so far away does not help to strengthen family ties."

"I guess I'm lucky about that" said the musician. "I mean, we may have our differences, but I have a good relationship with my family. Even with my mom..."

"I know, I noticed that yesterday."

Koutarou nodded smiling.

.

To say that he was having a good time with Bokuto was an understatement.

He loved talking to him.

He loved the way Bokuto made conversation with him without forcing him to share more than he was comfortable with. He loved the way Bokuto talked about everything that popped in his mind at the moment, like when he heard a Christmas song on the speaker in the cafeteria and gave him an explanation of why it was the best Christmas song ever, explaining that it had rhythm changes that went from 5/4 to 7/4, and then explaining what that meant.

By the time Bokuto finished his first explanation, the song had changed to a rock version of another Christmas song that he couldn't really place.

"It's easier than you think, look" said raising his right hand. "With my right hand I'm going to follow the strongest hit of the drums, the one of the kick drum, which is usually done with the foot" he said before tapping the table with his hand. "You hear it?"

Keiji nodded as he noticed how Bokuto's hand struck the table in time with one of the drum's sounds.

"Yeah..."

"Good! Now I'll follow the pace of one of the cymbals with my left" this time Bokuto's hand hit the table at the same time as the blows more acute blows of the song. "Do you hear it?"

"Yes."

"Now, I will follow the rhythm of the kick drum with my right and the one of the cymbal with my left at the same time." When the musician began his demonstration, Keiji was somewhat surprised to notice the blows were a bit out of step with each other but not much really, just enough to make the rhythm interesting. Apparently some of that was reflected on his face since Bokuto's laugh was heard. "You noticed it! Right?"

"Is the rhythm of the cymbal a little faster than that of the drum?

"Exactly! That's what we call rhythm! You see... the drummer hits the drum four times in one second, but he hits the cymbal five times in that same second" explained the gray haired boy. "That is somewhat common rhythm, but in the other song it switched between the two rhythms very often, that's why it sounded so different."

Keiji nodded smiling.

It was nice to see Bokuto get excited by something as ordinary as a Christmas song.

"Music is very important to you, right, Bokuto-san?"

Bokuto smiled with his whole face, making Keiji wonder for a second if he hadn't gone blind.

"My whole life revolves around to the music" replied the boy with gray hair. "When I was three years old, my parents took Megumi to piano lessons, you know, they bought her a upright piano and hired a private teacher... She left it after two days. So they decided that Lisa would learn to play the piano... She left after the first half hour of class. Then my parents gave up and the piano became a piece of furniture in the livingroom."

Keiji remembered seeing that piano the night before, Bokuto's father had sat next to it while they played that fateful gift exchange game.

"Then when did you get interested the piano?"asked the journalist.

"Ithink I got interested in that piano since I saw Megumi's teacher playing the keys to explain the sounds" said the golden-eyed boy. "I remember wondering how it was possible that when pressing a key a sound like that would come out and then how it was possible that only pressing them created a song."

Keiji nodded.

" I don't know anything about music, but I think I understand that curiosity," the journalist muttered.

Bokuto smiled again with his whole face.

"Yes! It was that! Curiosity!"

"So your parents hired you a piano teacher?"

Bokuto laughed before shaking his head.

"No, after two unsuccessful attempts they didn't want to try a third time, I spent more than a year trying to create songs on my own on the piano until everyone in my house got fed up and they sent me to a music school, it was cheaper than a private tutor and I would take all my noise to another place" said the boy smiling before letting out a laugh." I only lasted two months."

Keiji felt somewhat taken aback, he left the classes after two months?

"Huh?"

"The teachers were terrible and they scold me all the time. So I quit and kept pestering my family with the piano for months, until my dad made me go back to class and promised to buy me ice cream every day after class..."

"So they treated you to get you to learn what you liked?"

Bokuto laughed heartily.

"Yes, and it worked, I learned the basics of music. I spent years playing the piano, until junior high, when I decided that I didn't want to play the piano anymore, my parents got upset and said that they would not pay for classes other than the piano one's" said the musician . "So I learned to play the guitar on my own."

"And how long did it take them to send you to guitar lessons?"

The golden-eyed man smirked.

"They never did, from that day, I learned by myself how to play different instruments."

"Wow! I never would have thought about it, you play very well..." Keiji said, really surprised.

"Thank you! I'm actually quite proud about that."

"No wonder, it's quite an impressive achievement, " praised the raven. "How many instruments do you play?"

"Well, I'm really good at the piano, at the keyboard obviously... Also with the guitar, the bass, the mandolin, the ukulele... I'm also quite good with the drums, but Tsukki is much better than me" said Bokuto while he extended his fingers, counting the instruments"I can defend myself quite well with the violin, and with the cello... And there was a time when I dedicated myself to playing with the synthesizer... I also learned to play two or three songs on the harp, but that was because of a bet I made with Kuroo... Oh! And I'm pretty good with the harmonica too!"

Keiji blinked really surprised by the amount of instruments that Bokuto had counted at that moment, when he had asked the question he had imagined that his answer would be about three or four instruments, not a dozen.

He probably spent more time than normal thinking about it, since Bokuto's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Sorry, did I bored you with all my of th...?"

"Not at all!" said Keiji leaning forward, trying to meet Bokuto's eyes so he could see that he was telling the truth. His eyes connected instantly, making Bokuto's cheeks blush slightly and his own heat up."I-I was just thinking that those are more instruments than I thought..."

Bokuto seemed to believe him, as he quickly nodded.

"What about you? Do you play something?"

The warmth on Keiji's face intensified.

"I play videogames?" He said trying to be funny.

Apparently he had succeeded, since Bokuto's laughter flooded the place.

.

Koutarou wasn't aware of how long they had been in the cafeteria until Akaashi received a call from a friend.

"Yes, I'm sorry Oikawa-san, I didn't noticed the time. Yes, I'll be out in a moment. Yes, don't worry, I wasn't going to miss it. Yes, Oikawa-san" Akaashi said quickly before hanging up and looking at Koutarou with a mortified expression.

"Do you have to go somewhere?"

Akaashi nodded.

"Yeah, I made plans with some friends, you know Christmas" said Akaashi, who was clearly thinking in what to do. "I'm sorry..."

"Hey! Don't worry! I understand you have to go! Although I think it's a shame because I was having such a great time..."

"Would you like to go with me?" The black-haired man practically shouted lowering his face.

Koutarou believed that his brain had stopped for a second.

"Huh?"

"I know it's so... sudden! But...!" exclaimed the journalist before turning to look him in the eyes and looking away. "If you have other plans I'll understand, I just... I'm having a really good time and well, I think it would be fun if..."

Koutarou regained his ability to speak.

"Let's go!"

The smile Akaashi gave him at that moment was, for him at least, the most beautiful of all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just so you know: Akaashi and Osamu didn't end up on bad terms or anything like that. (I will go further into this in other chapters, I just don't want you to make any wrong ideas)
> 
> What did you think? Personally, my original intention for this chapter was to just write their coffee date, but then I thought, what if Bokuto meet's Akaashi's friends? I honestly don't think I do this thing of two chapters per holiday many times, but these chapters are where they are getting to know each other, that's why I ended up making them a bit more loaded.  
> I hope you don't mind!
> 
> As always, kudos, comments, criticisms, doubts, etc. are more than welcome!  
> It's always fun to read your comments, plus it's nice to know that you enjoy this story.
> 
> Take care!


	7. I like him? And I think he likes me?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Come on, Bokuto-san... If we hurry up we will manage to get to the 5:15 subway."
> 
> Bokuto smiled a bit hesitantly before getting up and putting on his olive parka again.
> 
> "Let's go" said the musician taking his umbrella, then walking with Keiji to the exit of the coffee shop. "Is it me or did the rain got worse?"
> 
> .
> 
> "And that's why we have to give you a warning" Sugawara said completely serious . "It's OK if you and Akaashi don't end up together, it's even OK if you lose interest in him... But if you plan to hurt him, you should know that we can hurt you more."
> 
> Koutarou didn't doubt the silver-haired man's words for a second.
> 
> "Just so you know, Iwa-chan practices boxing and Dai-chan is a policeman..." Oikawa added clearly trying to hide that he was drunk and trying to sound serious.
> 
> "That's enough" Daichi said before fixing his eyes on Koutarou. "Forgive these two idiots for threatening you, but they just want to make sure you don't plan on just having fun with him and then dump him..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe I finished this chapter! I rewrote it so many times!  
> First of all, with this I am 90% that I will finish the December chapters this month... but I will not make any promises!  
> On the other hand... After a month sick, I finally got rid of Covid! The only annoying thing is that I still cannot taste or smell anything... Anyway, at least I have health, right?  
> Okay! Without anything more to say, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Keiji went over the text he had sent to Iwaizumi in his mind.

_"I invited Bokuto-san to eat with us. Long story. Please, help me."_

It had been two minutes since he had sent the text and Iwaizumi hadn't replied. On the other hand, the group chat didn't have any new messages, and neither Oikawa nor Sugawara had harassed him, so he could assume that in the worst case scenario Iwaizumi probably hadn't seen the text.

"Are you sure I won't bother them?"

The journalist fixed his gaze on Bokuto, making a conscious effort not to lose himself in the color of his eyes.

"If there was no problem with me going to your family dinner, why would there be a problem with me inviting you to a meal with my friends?"

Bokuto shrugged.

"I don't know..."

Keiji took his coat and got up from the seat.

"Come on, Bokuto-san... If we hurry up we will manage to get to the 5:15 subway."

Bokuto smiled a bit hesitantly before getting up and putting on his olive parka again.

"Let's go" said the musician taking his umbrella, then walking with Keiji to the exit of the coffee shop. "Is it me or did the rain got worse?"

The journalist glanced the sidewalk outside the coffee shop, noticing how the raindrops fell so hard that they bounced off the ground. It had definitely been a good idea to wear boots.

"It definitely got worse, is it a problem?"

Bokuto gave him a sincere smile.

"Not at all... But..."

"Is something wrong?" Keiji asked a bit worried, maybe Bokuto had decided that there were better ways to spend Christmas day than with some strangers?

"You see, the rain actually will be a problem, " Bokuto replied, turning his face to where the subway station was located.

"Really? I don'..."

"For you" Bokuto declared with some amusement in his voice.

Keiji wasn't sure he understood, why the rain would be a problem for him?

"For me?" Asked the journalist wanting to get more time to understand what Bokuto tried to say.

"You see..." said the gray haired man before turning to him. "You will defenitily lose in the race to see who get's first to the station."

That been said, the musician pulled on the hood of his parka and started running in the rain, with his umbrella closed in his hand.

Keiji blinked in surprise before starting to run after Bokuto.

It might have been a better idea not to run, and walk under the protection of her umbrella, but as he ran trying to catch up with Bokuto, he let a laugh rumble his chest.

And just as he was about to catch up with Bokuto, something that he actually had to have expected happened.

He lost his step and slipped on the sidewalk.

"Akaashi!" Bokuto shouted before some hurried footsteps were heard getting closer to him. "Are you OK? Shit! Did you hit your head?"

The journalist continued laughing while shaking his head. The whole situation was stupid. The always cautious and serious Akaashi Keiji was lying on the sidewalk, by that moment the rain had soaked him completely, his scarf, hat, jacket and pants had already absorbed too much water, and his back and butt hurt. But of course, that was the logical outcome of running in the rain.

And still, he couldn't stop laughing.

.

They had not managed to get to the subway in time and now they were waiting for the next one along with a bunch of people.

"Come on! I won't get cold!" Koutarou assured trying to get Akaashi to wear his parka after it was evident that the journalist's coat was so wet that it was useless.

"Bokuto-san, we are like at 30 degrees, you will get cold, don't worry, when we get to Oikawa-san's house I will ask him for some of clothes " Akaashi replied, who was holding his coat in his arms.

"But you will be colder!" Exclaimed the musician, truly worried about his friend.

The raven shrugged.

"I'm used to being cold."

Koutarou decided that even if Akaashi was used to being cold, at least he wouldn't be cold with him. Without saying a word he took off his parka, snatched the coat from Akaashi's arms and tucked it under his arm. Akaashi turned to see him, clearly ready to say something, but Koutarou didn't give him time to say anything, since he quickly draped the parka over his shoulders and placed it's hood over the journalist's soaked hair.

"Do you need me to help you put your arms in the sleeves? Or you can do it by yourself?" asked the golden eyed boy while smirking.

Again a slight blush colored the journalist's cheeks.

Without saying a word the boy placed his arms inside the sleeves of the jacket. When Akaashi finally was properly protected by the parka, Koutarou smirked. Soon the slight tremor that had been shaking the journalist stopped.

"Was it so difficult to accept that you were cold?"

Akaashi smirked.

"Now you're cold, don't even try to deny it."

Koutarou shrugged.

"Not as much as you were, my clothes are still dry."

"When Oikawa-san lends me some clothes, I'll give you back these" declared the journalist, lowering the hood of the jacket.

Koutarou thought that would be a shame considering that Akaashi looked very good in that jacket. The jacket looked at least a size or two larger than the journalist needed, even though their heights weren't all that different.

"I don't know why you are doing all this drama, we both know you love using it" said gray haired boy, making the two of them blush. "I mean... y-ypu c-could wear a-about ten s-sweaters underneath..."

" M-Maybe ten i-is too much ... f-five sounds m-more realistic... " Akaashi replied.

Despite his embarrassment, Koutarou couldn't help but laugh.

"S-Sure, because wearing five sweaters is realistic."

A comfortable silence fell between them, at least until the subway of route 4 arrived.

"Hurry up! I think if we hurry up we will be able to take a seat!" Koutarou exclaimed taking Akaashi's arm, making him run towards the wagon.

.

The only advantage of being standing in the wagon was that being pressed against so many people, it was impossible to be cold.

When thye left the station, he felt extremely grateful to be wearing Bokuto's parka, while his concern about Bokuto getting cold grew.

"Please don't start tu run this time, I don't want to see you on the ground again" Bokuto joked as he opened his umbrella.

"I don't know, that sweatshirt looks quite comfortable..." the journalist joked as they started to walk to the bus stop.

"Don't tell me you're one of those guys who steal their boyfriends' sweatshirts!" exclaimed the musician.

Both stopped dead in their tracks while Keiji felt his neck, face and ears get hot.

"I-It's..."

"I-I mean i...!"

They were both silent before the raven started walking again.

"FYI, none of my ex had sweatshirts worth stealing" he murmured, feeling the blush on his face intensify.

Bokuto's footsteps were heard shortly after.

"And why t-their's w-weren't w-worth stealing?" the musician asked.

Keiji lowered his gaze a little, avoiding at all costs to see the face of the man who was walking next to him. He was sure that by that time his face looked like one of those caramel apples that Lev loved.

"T-They weren't a-as tal as y-you" said Keiji before a bus with a big B61 at the front display parked a few yards away from them. "That's our bus!" He exclaimed before starting to run.

"W-Wait! Do not run!"

"It's not like I'm going to fall every time I ru...!" The journalist tried to reply before feeling his foot slip.

Bokuto's strong arm stopped his fall.

Bokuto's black umbrella was lying on the sidewalk, collecting rain next to Keiji's yellow umbrella.

A few seconds later they were behind a curly-haired young woman, waiting to get on the bus.

"Please, never run in the rain again, Kaashi" Bokuto asked once they both passed their cards in front of the bus' tap and go scanner.

Keiji decided that he wouldn't say anything about the nickname Bokuto had just used.

.

"Coming!" shouted a loud voice from the other side of the door.

Koutarou noticed how Akaashi tensed a bit.

The door opened, revealing a young man, shorter than the musician, but just as muscular as him. His hair was dark brown, and it was combed up, as Koutarou himself used to do from time to time, his eyes were the same color as his hair, and they held some calmness and strange warmth, somewhat similar to his own father's eyes.

"Merry Christmas, Daichi-san, " Akaashi greeted, approaching the man at the door to give him a hug. Then the raven turned to Koutarou and smiled slightly. "He is Bokuto Koutarou, I had some coffee with him today, and I invited him to come over, I hope it is not a problem."

"You know I would never be a problem, Akaashi" said the boy at the door before turning to see Koutarou, stretching his hand. "Sawamura Daichi, it's nice to meet you, Bokuto" he said as Koutarou took his hand . "Merry Christmas" he added with a smile.

Koutarou smiled at the man's greetings, noticing that his hands were almost as rough as his.

"Nice to meet you Sawamura, I'm Bokuto Koutarou. And Merry Christmas!"

"You can call me Daichi, everyone does, even Akaashi" he said as he stepped aside, letting them enter.

Koutarou smirked.

"Wow! Kaashi calls someone by their name! That's new! the musician joked.

"Kaashi?" Asked a voice a little more high pitched, appearing the brown-haired boy that he had seen at the bagel shop a month ago.

Akaashi coughed slightly before answering.

"Bokuto-san decided to mutilate my name in a different way than you, Oikawa-san. Merry Christmas" said the journalist before pointing to Bokuto. "Oikawa-san, this is Bokuto-san, I told Iwaizumi-san that he would come..."

"Yes, yes, Iwa-chan already told us, Akaa-chan" said the brunette smiling before hugging Akaashi tightly. "Merry Christmas!" He exclaimed keeping the hug a little longer, then without pulling away, he turned to see Koutarou. "Hi! Hey! Move so Bokuto-chan can come in! By the way! Oikawa Tooru, nice to meet you!"

"Bokuto Koutarou. Merry Christmas!"

Koutarou found it amusing that Oikawa decided to use that honorific especially for him.

"Then move Stupikawa, you are the one blocking the way" said a voice that sounded a bit annoyed. Koutarou turned to see the man who was peeking in the hall. He was more or less the same height as Daichi, and while he wasn't as buff as he, Koutarou could see that he probably spent a lot of time excercising, his exposed arms were evidence of that.

"Do you always have to be so mean, Iwa-chan? Oikawa complained, releasing Akaashi, and then walking to where the other man was.

"Yes, I have a reputation to protect" replied the shorter man. "Iwaizumi Hajime, boyfriend of this piece garbage."

And despite his aggressiveness, Iwaizumi wrapped an arm around Oikawa's waist.

So he was the boyfriend Akaashi had referred to a month ago.

"Bokuto Koutarou, Akaashi's friend" replied the slightly nervous gray-haired boy.

"Do not panic, only treats Oikawa like that, he is a nice person with everyone else" Daichi assured while putting a hand on his shoulder. "Come on, get in."

They all went to the kitchen of the house, where another man, Akaashi's friend whom he had seen with him in the Bestbuy line, was cutting fruit and placing it in a jug, which judging by the bottle and the color of the drink, probably was something that had red wine in it.

"Suga is preparing some clericot, he will probably ignore us until he finishes" Daichi declared turning to see the musician.

"I can introduce myself now! I'm Sugawara Koushi, but everyone calls me Suga!" the silver-haired boy said, a huge and sincere grin.

"Nice to meet you Suga! I'm Bokuto Koutarou!"

"Do you like clericot, Bokuto?" Sugawara asked smiling.

"I've never tried it, but from what I see on the table and in the jug, I think I will like it"the musician replied smiling.

"You should be careful, Bokuto-san. Sugawara-san's favorite hobby is get people drunk" Akaashi warned while smirking. "And make people suffer with spicy foods, which's why he is forbidden to cook for us."

"And for me, I don't let that maniac get close to the kitchen at night" Daichi added smiling, then he turned to Oikawa, who was leaning on the kitchen bar, watching Iwaizumi. "You should go get some clothes for them, they are drenched" he suggested taking a beer from the kitchen counter, where Iwaizumi was, cutting a huge Christmas ham.

"But Akaa-chan looks so good in that jacket that's obviously not his!" Oikawa replied.

Koutarou turned to see Akaashi, deciding to ignore Oikawa's very accurate observation.

"Bokuto is soaked, for once in your life be a decent human being and give them some clothes. I'm sure some of the sweatshirts from the sports center will fit Bokuto" Iwaizumi said without taking his eyes off the ham. Oikawa grumbled a bit before sighing and walking out of the kitchen, they soon heard hurried footsteps upstairs. "Come closer, the oven is on so it will keep you warm" he added, looking up to fix her gaze on Koutarou, making him understand it was an order.

"Let me guess, are you are their mother?" Bokuto joked, standing next to Iwaizumi.

"Actually Yaku-san is our mother" said Akaashi, who was now in front of him, "but since he is in Japan, Iwaizumi took his place."

Koutarou laughed remembering how Konoha had the same role, and how when someone said something about it he denied it saying that Yukie was the mother of them.

"So who's the father?" the musician joked.

Iwaizumi, Akaashi, and a jacket-laden Oikawa answered at the same time

"Daichi."

"Daichi-san."

"Dai-chan."

Koutarou laughed heartily.

"I didn't have a choice" said Daichi shrug before finishing his beer.

"Give me your clothes, and put on this - said Oikawa holding out to Bokuto a sweatshirt with a logo of the Columbia University on the front.

"Thank you very much!"

"Thank you."

Koutarou wasted no time taking off his sweatshirt to give it to Oikawa in exchange for the blue sweatshirt. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Akaashi get rid of the parka, his gray sweater and another blue sweater, and then take a thick red knitted sweater.

"I'll put your things in the dryer" announced Oikawa leaving the kitchen again.

"I left more wet clothes at the hanger! Could you also dry them? asked Akaashi, running after Oikawa.

"Please don't run Kaashi!" yelled Koutarou, making Akaashi roll his eyes before he was out of sight. Iwaizumi and Daichi turned to see him confused.

"How you got soaked, Bokuto? - Daichi asked.

.

"Wait! Wait! Wait! Are you telling me that Akaa-chan... our proper, careful and professional Akaa-chan accepted a race under the rain?" Oikawa asked, who upon getting a nod from Bokuto, who was chewing at that moment, laughed out loud.

"Are you serious, Akaashi? Did you agree to run in the rain and fell? Sugawara asked, clearly trying to control his laughter. Keiji decided to continue eating, so he just nodded. "Why?"

Keiji let the ham slide down his throat before answering.

"We wanted to get to the subway and not wait another fifteen minutes, so we had to run, there wasn't much difference if I ran trying to beat Bokuto-san" explained the journalist, hoping that the interrogation would end soon.

Why Bokuto had to tell the truth about the state of their clothes?

"So you tripped, got soaked and still had to wait for the subway for fifteen minutes, it doesn't seem like it was your best idea" Iwaizumi said smirking.

Keiji would thought the same, but the fact that he was able to wear Bokuto's parka all the time after the incident seemed like a very good benefit to him.

The problem was, he couldn't tell them that.

Just when he was about to reply to his friend something like he might have slipped walking at a normal pace, Bokuto spoke.

"And the second time he fell I managed to stop him just because I ran after him to help him, but our umbrellas fell, so we got soaked again" the musician added before turning to see Keiji smiling. "Well I got soaked , you were lucky that my jacket was waterproof..."

"Bokuto-san... You're not helping me" Keiji whispered, feeling his cheeks heat up for the God-knows-what time in the day and feeling the mocking gazes of his friends on him.

"So you started running a second time and fell again, did you want his sweatshirt too?" Sugawara asked with a shit-eating-grin that Keiji wished he could erase immediately.

He immediately gave Bokuto a pleading look, but Bokuto didn't turn to see him. Luckily Bokuto was eating.

"Do have to I remind you that the jacket is waterproof? You are saying nonsense, Sugawara-san" he said quickly before the musician was able to reply.

"You're so boring, Akaashi" the silver-haired one complained.

"Obviously he isn't boring if he run two races in the rain" Iwaizumi joked.

"The second one wasn't a race, I just tried to run to catch the bus" Keiji replied.

"Although there was no need, after that we walked to the stop and still caught up with it, " Bokuto added smiling.

"But we couldn't know that before."

"I knew it, that's why I didn't try to run" the musician replied smirking.

"You speak as if didn't start the first race..."

"That I did, but I learned from my mistake..."

"I was just trying to catch..."

"Wow" his friends muttered, making the little discussion between him and the musician end. Keiji turned to see his friends, who were genuinely surprised.

"Huh?" Keiji and Bokuto asked at the same time.

"Sorry, it's just weird to see someone succeed in making Akaa-chan act..." Oikawa said gesturing with his hand to Keiji, traying to make his point. "Like this..."

"Yes, usually Akaashi doesn't waste his time arguing, he simply ignores us" Sugawara added.

Keiji felt his ears get hot.

"I'm good at provoking people" Bokuto declared, smirking.

"Oh, you're obviously good at provoking Akaashi" Sugawara conceded, giving Akaashi another shit eating grin.

Keiji gave the silver-haired man a warning glance, who in return widened his smile.

Maybe taking Bokuto to eat with his friends had been a bad idea.

.

"Then Bok-chan" Oikawa slurred, probably due to the fact that he drank half a jug of clericor. "Do I know you? Like from before? I feel like I've seen you..."

Koutarou laughed before nodding.

"Black Friday, Bergen Bagels, my sister said you were beautiful" the musician replied, hoping that Iwaizumi would not be bothered by his comment.

The olive-eyed youth's growl startled him a bit.

"So your sister was the one who skyrocketed his edo for a week?" Iwaizumi asked before sighing. "It was a nightmare, he kept saying that I must value him, that there were many people who appreciated his beauty..."

"It was true hell" Sugawara said taking another sip of his glass, which at that point contained just white wine.

"You were unbearable" Daichi added.

"You know you are horrible?" Oikawa complained hugging his boyfriend.

"And still you invited us to spend Christmas with you" Akaashi said, who was sitting next to Bokuto.

"And I regret inviting you!" Oikawa exclaimed annoyed, trying to take the bottle of wine that was on the table, which was put away by Iwaizumi, who moved the bottle, far from the bruentte's reach. Koutarou smiled and decided that if Oikawa wanted a hangover the next day, he shouldn't stop him, so he passed the brunette the bottle of the whiskey he was drinking. "Except for you Boku-chan! I'm so glad you came!" the brunette exclaimed, smiling before taking his glass and pouring a generous amount of liquor into it.

"It's the sixth nickname you give him" Daichi scoffed.

"And I was the one who invited Bokuto-san here, not you" Akaashi added smirking before taking a sip of his beer, which Bokuto had learned was his drink of choice, having only stronger drinks when there was no other option or when his friends managed to coerce him, which had not happened on that occasion.

Oikawa clicked his tongue.

"Details, details" he said dismissing the comments of his friends with a wave of his hand before taking a sip from his glass.

Koutarou smiled at the scene.

Oikawa and Iwaizumi were sitting in an armchair clearly designed for one person, this being evident because the brunette was on the legs of Iwaizumi, who at first had let out an annoying growl before wrapping his arms around his boyfriend's torso and smile slightly, clearly comfortable. Next to them, Sugawara and Daichi were sitting in another armchair, the man with silver hair on the seat and the brunette on the armrest, passing his hand from time to time through his boyfriend's hair.

And then there were Akaashi and him, sitting in a huge L-shaped couch with enough space for about five people, but who had decided to sit pressed together, with the excuse of being able to be closer to the others that way.

They continued talking about different topics until Akaashi realized that there were no more beers.

"It's your turn to go get them, Akaa-chan" Oikawa crooned.

The raven bit his lip, clearly worried at the idea of leaving Koutarou alone.

"Come on, Kaashi, I'll go with you..."

"No way! We all take turns for going for alcohol! It's Akaa-chan's turn!" Oikawa explained smiling.

"The next time it will be your turn, Bokuto" Sugawara added. "Besides, it won't take him long, the store is on the corner."

Akaashi sighed before getting up.

"Will you lend me again your jacket, Bokuto-san?" the reporter asked.

Koutarou didn't waste a second before nodding.

"Your coat should already be dry, Akaa-chan" Oikawa said smirking ",there's no need for you to wear Bo-chan's clothes."

" Seventh nickname of the night, " Daichi muttered.

"Did you put his coat in the dryer?" Iwaizumi asked clearly worried.

"Of course not! Who do you take me for? I hanged it on the back porch so it will... Oh..."

The laughter did not take long to explode.

"You weren't drunk at that moment" Daichi said with a resigned tone.

" You're an idiot" Iwaizumi muttered before attempting to move to Oikawa to stand up. "Let me get up, I'll give him a jacket...".

"Don't worry, you can wear my jacket, Akaashi," Koutarou intervened smiling.

Akaashi gave him a beautiful smile before turning to his friends.

"Please behave in front of Bokuto-san" the raven asked, then he walked to the door.

As soon as they heard that the door had closed, Oikawa and Sugawara rose from their places, immediately sitting on either side of Koutarou.

"It'll be quick, Akaashi will probably rush to return" Sugawara said with a serious expression on his face. "What are your intentions with Akaashi?"

Koutarou blinked somewhat surprised.

He didn't expect Akaashi's friends to be so blunt.

"I like him? And I think he like's me?" Koutarou said trying to not sound too insecure.

The four men in front of him grinned.

"Oh, you can be sure about that, " Daichi declared, smirking.

Koutarou felt his heart race. It was one thing to suspect that Akaashi was interested in him, but it was very different thing to hear his friends say it was true.

"And that's why we have to give you a warning" Sugawara said completely serious . "It's OK if you and Akaashi don't end up together, it's even OK if you lose interest in him... But if you plan to hurt him, you should know that we can hurt you more."

Koutarou didn't doubt the silver-haired man's words for a second.

"Just so you know, Iwa-chan practices boxing and Dai-chan is a policeman..." Oikawa added clearly trying to hide that he was drunk and trying to sound serious.

"That's enough" Daichi said before fixing his eyes on Koutarou. "Forgive these two idiots for threatening you, but they just want to make sure you don't plan on just having fun with him and then dump him..."

Koutarou quickly shook his head.

"I would never do that, I don't think anyone would do..."

"Oh, already happened... And we couldn't do anything about that asshole..."

"Enough, Stupikawa. Is not your place to tell that" Iwaizumi said folding his arms before sighing and fix his gaze on the musician. "You look like decent guy, so I don't think we need to worry, but please don't hurt him, OK?"

Koutarou nodded.

"Right now I just want to get to know him a little better..."

"I'm sure Akaa-chan wants to get to know you better too" Oikawa crooned.

The golden-eyed boy blushed upon hearing that.

After threatening him, Oikawa and Sugawara returned to their previous places and began to talk about their jobs. Koutarou learned that Sugawara was a teacher at a private school, that Daichi worked as a police officer in the traffic department, that Iwaizumi worked at Columbia University as an athletic trainer and was part-time teacher, and that Oikawa worked in the New York Hall of Science.

"If Iwa-chan doesn't give me a ride, I end up spending more than an hour on the way to the museum!" Oikawa complained.

"Yes, but if you always give a ride, then I would spend more than an hour to get to university, Stupik..." Iwaizumi replied before a knock at the door was heard. "Coming!"

Seconds later Akaashi entered the room with a carton of beer and two separate cans, one of which he handed to Daichi.

"I hope they didn't make you feel uncomfortable or questioned you" said the journalist sitting next to Koutarou, who didn't bother to move when Akaashi's thihgt ended up pressed against his.

"Don't worry, they only told me embarrassing stories about you" Koutarou replied.

"Huh?" Akaashi exclaimed alarmed.

Laughter from everyone echoed in the room.

"Relax Kaashi! They only told me what they do" clarified the one with gray hair.

"Which reminds me, what do you do for living, Bokuto?" Sugawara asked stealing Daichi's beer, who got up resigned and went to the kitchen for another one.

"Ah, I'm a musician in an marketing agency" Koutarou replied. "You know, the background music for TV spots. And I play in a band with my friends, although that's mostly a hobby..."

For some reason he thought that the boys in front of him were more surprised by his work as a musician, being somewhat strange not to receive a bunch of questions about how he managed to live only from his music.

.

"Be careful!" Sugawara said goodbye when the bus doors opened for Bokuto and Keiji to get down of it. "It was nice to meet you, Bokuto!"

"It was my pleasure!"

"Take care, Sugawara-san, Daichi-san."

"As serious as always" Daichi and his boyfriend sighed at the same time, somewhat resigned.

Bokuto and Koutarou opened their umbrellas at the same time, after all the rain continued to fall unabated.

"You should put on the hood, " suggested Bokuto as he put on the hood of his parka. Keiji thought about it for a moment, he was wearing his beanie and scarf, he didn't think that the hood of the thick jacket that Oikawa had lent him would make much difference.

Just as Keiji shrugged deciding he didn't need it, he felt Bokuto take the hood and pull it up onto the raven's head, pulling it up to his eyes.

"Hey!" The journalist exclaimed somewhat puzzled.

Bokuto laughed.

"You know? At first I thought that you would be the mother of your friends, because you are serious and calm..." the musician began to say as they continued walking.

"No, Yaku-san and Iwaizumi-san are..."

"But now I understand that you are the stubborn son" said the gray haired boy. "You think you are smarter than others and that is why you always go against them."

Keiji turned to see Bokuto stunned.

"Huh?"

"You're just like Tsukki! If you decide that you will do something, you do it, even if someone tells you it will be a bad idea! Like when Daichi warned you not to lift the pot because it was hot and you still did and end up hurting your hands!" the musician said smiling, making Keiji lower his gaze to see his hands, which under his gloves were slightly injured by the incident that the man who was walking next to him just mentioned. "Oh, Tsukki is the drummer of..."

"Yeah, I remember, glasses, blond hair" Keiji smiled. "Sounds like a great guy, by the way."

Bokuto rolled his eyes.

"I bet you will get along pretty well" the golden eyed boy stated. "If you want to meet him! Not that...!"

Keiji smirked.

"I would be very pleased to meet him."

They continued walking to the subway station in pleasant silence, and just as they were about to walk down the steps, Bokuto stopped.

"Kaashi, would you like to go out with me?" Bokuto suddenly asked.

Keiji felt as if everything around him had stopped.

Everything except the presence of Bokuto, who bounced on his heels and toes, waiting for an answer.

"Huh?"

His answer was as eloquent as ever.

"I'm not asking you if you want to be my boyfriend! I would like to get to know you a little more before that! Although I am sure that even knowing you more I'll still want to be your boyfriend! It's just that I want to know a little more about you! Because I really like you and I think you like me...!"

Bokuto kept talking for a bit longer, but Keiji wasn't listening, not completely. He was sure that he didn't just liked Bokuto, he was sure that he was in love with that musician with whom he had barely spent time.

The problem was, he didn't really know if that feeling was real or if he was just looking for someone to replace Mike with.

He was 99% sure that his feelings for Bokuto were real.

But what if his real feelings were that other 1%?

"... let's continue being friends! Even if you're not interested in me in thata way! You really are someone amazing and I wish I could be your friend! We don't have to talk about this again! We can just be two new friends!"

Keiji blinked as his brain finished processing what Bokuto said.

He bit his lip thinking of what to say.

"I would love to continue going out with you, Bokuto-san. But I think we need to talk a bit before I totally accept this. I have a bit of bagage... that I should tell you about, my past relationship... Ah, maybe it sounds strange that I tell you this because..." the raven muttered before looking up. "You could shut me up, you know? That way I wouldn't make a fool of myself..."

Bokuto gave him such a warm smile that Keiji felt like he should take off Oikawa's jacket and his sweaters.

"If I did it wouldn't be this funny, " the gray-haired man replied smiling. Keiji couldn't help but smirk for a moment, it was funny that their roles were reversed even for just a moment. Bokuto checked the screen of his phone before smiling . "You know? I'm not ready for our day to end yet... It's 9:30. We can take the route A. That would leave us at the entrance of Central Park..."

Keiji blinked surprised.

"Do you want to go to Central Park? At this hour? With this rain?" the raven asked.

"Well, the park is beautiful at night, we are also two tall men, I think the muggers will think it over to attack us..." he began to say before going down a couple of steps and stopping to turn to see the journalist. "And they are probably at their homes because it is raining!"

Keiji laughed heartily.

"What do you say, Kaashi?" Bokuto asked offering Keiji his hand.

Keiji smiled before taking the hand of the boy in front of him.

"Let's go."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll admit that this chapter was going to have the park scene, but I liked this ending soooo much!!! I'm finishing editing the park chapter, but it's already written, so I'll post it this week.
> 
> What did you think? You have no idea how happy you make me with your comments! I am so glad that you are enjoying this story!!
> 
> As always, kudos, comments, etc. are more than welcome! You know you can tell me whatever you want in the comment box below!
> 
> And well, take care OK? If you can, stay at home, and if you need to go out, take your precautions ♥


	8. You haven't got over it

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Is it me or did you suddenly got to cocky?" Akaashi asked as he closed his flashy umbrella.
> 
> "Well, now I know that the most beautiful boy I've seen in my life likes me" said the gray-haired man, fixing his gaze on Akaashi.
> 
> "So all of this is just because you like my appearance" the journalist joked.
> 
> Koutarou nodded with a wide smile.
> 
> .
> 
> "Kaashi, do you know that you talk a lot when you're nervous?" Bokuto asked with some mockery in his voice.
> 
> The journalist felt his cheeks heat up.
> 
> Yes, several had told him. Virtually everyone who had noticed it had told him at some point.
> 
> "N-No."
> 
> Bokuto laughed slightly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, this chapter was only going to be about their chat at the park and I was going to leave the rest as a series of flashbacks in the following chapters but then I thought... hmm maybe this will be a better ending to the chapter.  
> Anyway, with this I finished the Christmas chapters. I hope and the chapters of December 31 and January 1 are only two chapters... I still don't know because I have barely two scenes from the New Year's chapter.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you like the chapter!  
> Enjoy !! ♥

"This looks like a good place" Koutarou said smiling as they walked to a small pavillion where a couple of years before his sister had her wedding photoshoot. "I'm tired of always holding this thing " he added pointing with his head at his umbrella.

"You were the one who wanted to come despite the rain" Akaashi said, making Koutarou will roll his eyes.

"I know, the company is worth it" the musician replied smirking.

Then it was Akaashi's turn to roll his eyes.

"Is it me or did you suddenly got to cocky?" Akaashi asked as he closed his flashy umbrella.

"Well, now I know that the most beautiful boy I've seen in my life likes me" said the gray-haired man, fixing his gaze on Akaashi.

"So all of this is just because you like my appearance" the journalist joked.

Koutarou nodded with a wide smile.

"Yes! Actually! We are here only because you are incredibly handsome! It has nothing to do with your being someone extremely interesting, or that I always feel so comfortable around you..."

"Good to know, now I know I don't have to worry about being interesting."

The musician waved his hand dismissing the comment.

"Relax, with your beauty and my japanese kink is enough" Koutarou declared smirking.

And that's when something happened.

Akaashi tensed and turned to see him with wide eyes.

It was obvious that the he and the raven weren't in the same joke anymore.

"D-Did...? D-Did they t-tell you?" the journalist asked, voice cracking, dropping his umbrella, which when it hit the ground suddenly opened, spraying their legs with the remaing dropets.

"Huh? What are you talking about, Kaashi?" the boy with gray hair asked, leaving his umbrella on the ground and turning to see his companion, who was no longer relaxed. Now Akaashi was frowning, his shoulders straight and tense, and clearly uncomfortable.

Akaasi took a deep breath, but nothing in his appearance changed.

Koutarou had to try really hard not to curse out loud.

"When I went for the beer, did my friends tell you something? About my ex?" Akaashi asked fixing his eyes on Koutarou's, as if he was trying to read him.

Koutarou held his gaze.

"They only told me that you dated someone that hurted you, and threatened to hurt me if I end up doing the same" declared the boy with golden eyes without trying to look away, trying to make Akaashi believe him. "Which I never would."

They stayed that way for a few seconds before the journalist closed his eyes and sighed.

Althought the black haired boy's body didn't relax.

"It was kind of funny you used those words, Bokuto-san."

"Sorry, I didn't know..."

Akaashi shook his head.

"You didn't have to know, but I think my reaction was proof enough..." the journalist said before picking up his umbrella. Koutarou thought that Akaashi was going to close it, but the reporter surprised him by properly puting it over himself. "I thought I was ready to move on, but obviously... I was wrong... I'm sorry for waisting your time, Bokuto-san."

Then the man got out of the roof's protection.

Koutarou froze.

What had just happened?

Was he going to let Akaashi go just like that?

Was he going to let the man who might be the love of his life walk away without saying anything?

He clenched his fists before running.

It didn't take long for him to place his hand on the journalist's shoulder and turn him towards him, probably with more force than necessary. The boy's eyes met for a moment.

"Please don't end this before it begins, " he asked, feeling his face get wet. He had left his umbrella in the pavillion. "Let's talk, just like you said, please."

Akaashi laughed, shocking the gray-haired man. It wasn't a mean laugh, but he wasn't sure it was a real laugh, it seemed hollow.

"Do you know that if this is the beginning of something, it would be a horrible joke?" Akaashi asked closing his eyes before breathing deeply. Then he opened his eyes and fixed his sea-colored gaze on Koutarou. "Come on, get here, Bokuto-san. Let's talk."

Koutarou nodded as he entered the protection of the yellow umbrella.

They walked slowly to the pavillion where the musician's umbrella remained closed.

Once sheltered, Akaashi closed his umbrella and let his gaze stay on the ground, as if his boots were the most interesting thing in the world. The golden-eyed man let the raven remain silent for a while before deciding that at least he had something to say.

"I don't know what happened exactly, just that they hurt you. But, Kaashi... you have to believe me, I would never hurt you."

Akaashi looked him in the eye for a long moment before nodding and directing his gaze to the front, where they could see the rain falling relentlessly against the ground.

"The day before I met you, the day of Thanksgiving, my ex broke up with me" the raven suddenly said. "In the middle of the room, while all my friends where there..."

Koutarou opened his eyes shocked.

"O-Oh..."

Keiji's laugh sounded a bit more genuine than before.

"Yeah.. Oh..." the raven said. "To be fair, he had first asked me if we could talk, but Oikawa was dancing and I thought he could wait a bit... But he wanted end everything, so he just turned me around, looked me in the eye and told me that we were done. In front of everyone."

The musician felt something like anger and shame begin to bubble up in his chest.

But then he noticed something.

Akaashi didn't look especially sad, he just looked upset.

"Kaa..."

"You know? He didn't even hurt me, he just humiliated me..." said the the sea-colored eyed boy. "He had a girlfriend and I was just kind of a kink..."

"Because you're Japanese?"

Akaashi nodded.

"I told you that the words you used a few minutes ago were funny."

Koutarou sighed in frustration.

He actually had a horrible sense of humor.

"It wasn't even a good joke" the musician growled. "I'm sorry..."

Akaashi shook his head.

"You couldn't have known, first I worried because I thought my friends had told you for some reason" the raven replied before closing his eyes and throwing his head back.

Suddenly a broken laugh echoed above the rain.

"Kaashi?"

Akaashi continued laughing for a few more moments before calming down and wiping away a few tears that flowed from his eyes.

"Do you know it's funny? That a fucking meaningless relationship ruined a relationship with someone as incredible as you" the raven said without a hint of amusement in his voice. "If only... he had broken up with me before... or... if only I had met you later..."

Koutarou frowned before placing his hand on Akaashi's shoulder and turning him a second time.

"So what if that asshole broke up with you the day before we met?"

Akaashi growled clearly frustrated.

"Can't you see? What if what I feel for you is just that I'm want to find something in you to replace it with? What if this ends up being a damn rebound relationship? What if you're the one and it all goes to hell because my previous relationship ended the day before?"

It was then Koutarou's turn to growl in annoyance.

"If it was like that, then you wouldn't even notice it! If you think it is a possibility and you are aware of it... then it is not the case! Also, how can something that hasn't even started can go to hell?"

Akaashi put his hands in his hair and ruffled it with a little to much force, as if he wanted to get rid of something on his head.

Probably your doubts and insecurities.

"Ah! This is so... frustating! It's the first time I've felt something like this for someone as soon as I've met him and...! Stupid! It's over and still...! Ah! Asshole! Moron! Stupid!" He yelled hiding his face behind his hands as he continued to utter insults. If the insults were towards his ex-boyfriend or towards Akaashi himself, the musician could not say it.

Koutarou couldn't help but laugh at the scene.

.

"I'm pathetic, right?" he asked Keiji lowering his hands and turning to see Bokuto, who laughed in front of him.

Koutarou shook his head while laughing.

"How long have you kept all that?" Asked the musician once his laughter died down.

"Huh?"

"How long have you been keeping all that anger in your chest? Did you ever say that your ex is an asshole?"

"Yes, I told him when he broke..."

Bokuto shook his head.

"No, I mean this, to shout it out. Scream it some time later just because you are angry at him..."

Keiji shrugged.

"Never, it isn't worth it, I got over it quickly eno..."

"Of course not! Look to you! It's been a month and you don't want me to know you because of what that asshole did to you!" Bokuto exclaimed as if he was talking about some sitcom, not Keiji's love life.

"That's because a month is not enough time to start another relationship..."

"Who said there is some minimum lead time for that? And before you say anything about me being a rebound... I felt something click the moment I saw you, I don't know, I knew you were special, and I haven't had a boyfriend for years!"

Keiji blinked completely stunned.

Did Bokuto feel the same as him?

"Do you realize that I haven't gotten ovet it, right?" he asked Keiji straighting his shoulders in an attempt to keep his image.

Bokuto laughed heartily.

"Yeah, you haven't..."

"And that probably a relationship with me will end pretty bad?"

Bokuto shook his head.

"No, I think that a relationship with you would be the best thing that could happen to me..."

"But if I haven't moved on..."

The musician clicked his tongue as he denied moving his index finger.

"Of course not, even if you haven't moved on... it doesn't mean that you still feel something for him, I think it's just that... that asshole really hurt you" replied the man with golden eyes . "Also that gives me the opportunity to heal your heart, just like in the movies, don't you think?"

Keiji couldn't help but laugh heartily.

"Life is not a movie, Bokuto-san."

"Movies are based on life, that's enough for me" he replied grinning. "So, what do you say? Would you give me the opportunity to continue knowing you and heal your heart?"

Keiji laughed.

"That was too cheesy, and the fact that I majored in Literature means that I know about it..."

The gray haired boy shrugged.

"So what? I'm a musician, I write cheesy stuff..."

The journalist smirked.

"You got a point..."

"So? What do you say? Would you give me the opportunity to know you a little more?" Keiji nodded feeling his lips curl up and Bokuto's laugh echoed in the pavillion, scaring a couple of birds that were sheltering on the roof. "Yeah!" He yelled throwing his arms over his head in victory.

Keiji let his laugh accompany Bokuto's for a while before the gray-haired boy spoke again.

"Do you want to have lunch tomorrow? Tomorrow I will have rehearsal with the band, but I can see you before rehearsal, you could even come with me to the rehearse....!"

It was then that Keiji remembered why he had managed to keep their previous failed relationship out of his mind for so long.

"I-I'm sorry, Bokuto-san... But I have work that I need finish, and tomorrow I have to go to work... I guess this isn't a good start, but I am always busy with my work and with my master's and..."

"Kaashi, do you know that you talk a lot when you're nervous?" Bokuto asked with some mockery in his voice.

The journalist felt his cheeks heat up.

Yes, several had told him. Virtually everyone who had noticed it had told him at some point.

"N-No."

Bokuto laughed slightly.

"It's good to know that you're a bad liar."

They were silent for a few moments, while Keiji gathered his thoguhts.

"It will probably be hard, Bokuto-san. I'm not gonna lie, I'm always busy, when my classes start I'll kiss goodbye to all my free time..."

"And yet I have seen you three times this last month... It's almost as if we have seen each other every weekend..."

"In fact, because of my coworker that it's on medical leave, I'll have work on weekends... And, we have seen each other on holidays, but I usually work on holidays, like yesterday..."

"But that was because you told them that you had no plans, if you had a plan for those days, you could have a rest, right? Like at Thanksgiving..."

An idea began to bubble in Keiji's mind.

Probably between his work and the master's degree he would not have much free time other than one or two weekends per month, but if he stopped volunteering his time on holidays and took his turn to rest those days like his coworkers... probably he would have one day a month completely to himself. Maybe it wasn't much, but it was a start.

The only problem was whether Bokuto would accept it.

"I think I have an idea, I can start to take the holidays..." Keiji he offered fixing his gaze on the musician. "I know it's not much, but I can spend those days with you..."

"Besides, your coworked won't always be on medical leave, right?"

Keiji smirked.

"No ... I think she will come back in March..."

"And you will end your master's degree at some point, right?"

"Yeah... I'll finish it in June..."

"And they can't make you work every weekend, can they?"

"No..."

Bokuto grinned at him from side to side.

"Then we can start seeing each other on holidays, but we could try to see each other a little more with the time" the musician said before scratching his temple a little nervous. "If you want us to see each other more often...!"

"I'd love to" Keiji declared.

.

"Will you be busy on the 31st?"

Akaashi shook his head smiling.

"No, I'll probably spend the afternoon with my friends, maybe I'll convince them to go see the Times Square's ball fall... But I haven't planned anything."

"Don't tell that to your boss! Tell them you have plans!"

Akaashi's laugh was music to his ears.

And Koutarou loved music.

" We'll perform in a bar at Manhattan the 31st, I'm not sure where... and I don't know at what hour it'll be, but... would you like to go? If we finish playing on time, we can go to Times Square and the ball drop."

"I'll rather see you play than watch a ball drop at midnight" the raven said smiling.

"So now... we have a plan?"

"We have a plan."

Both boys opened their umbrellas before leaving the pavillion.

A few seconds later the rain stopped.

"Finally!" Koutarou exclaimed dropping his umbrella and turning himself a couple of times.

"Bokuto-san it can start to raining again!" exclaimed Akaashi running after the black umbrella that rolled away from them.

"Relax! After so much rain we deserve a break!" replied the one with gray hair smiling as he closed his eyes

"The weather can be deceptive, don't be... Oh..."

"Kaashi?" Koutarou asked, opening his eyes a bit worried only to find an image that made him take out his phone.

Akaashi Keiji was standing in the middle of the park, with two umbrellas on the ground, turning his face towards the sky with his eyes closed and his arms outstretched, letting a slight contented smile take over his face as the snow fell on the park. Some snow flakes got stucked in his clothing, as others began to paint the ground, and others accumulated in his beanie, his hair and scarf.

He inmediately snaped a photo.

"Huh?"

The sound of the photo made Akaashi turn to look at him and Koutarou's cheeks heated up.

"I-I'm sorry, b-but you looked t-so good and..."

"I hope it is as good as the one I took when you started turning around, " Akaashi cut him off smiling, taking his phone out.

Koutarou turned to see him confused.

"Huh?"

"However, I did remember to mute my phone" the raven declared before showing the musician a photo where he was with his arms outstretched turning away from the camera, enjoying that the rain had stopped after almost a month of constant rain. "Unlike y..."

"Did you remember something, Kaashi?"

Akaashi gave him a smirk.

"It 's the first snowfall of the season... I love walking here while it snows" Akaashi said. "Especially when it's the first one before the snow gets too dirty."

Koutarou smiled.

"And I'm the cheesy one?"

"You're the one who writes cheesy songs, Bokuto-san."

Each one took their respective umbrellas before starting to walk.

When they left the park, before starting to walk to the station, Akaashi stopped.

"You know what? I know it's late, but I'm not ready for our night to end, not yet, Bokuto-san."

Koutarou felt his corners stretch from smiling.

"Me neither, Kaashi."

.

Keiji smiled as he was lightly pressed against the bus window. He liked to feel how big Bokuto's body was.

They ended up deciding that it would be better to spend the rest of the night in Brooklyn, where in the case that the MTA system stopped due to the snow or the rain, they might as well walk to their respective apartments. Once they found themselves in Brooklyn, they looked for a place to continue their night, discovering that everything was practically closed, something obvious considering that it was Christmas, their only options being some pubs or bars.

Bokuto had been the first to suggest that they continue their night in one of the two's apartments, practically shouting that he wasn't looking to have sex with him, that he just wanted to be able to talk, maybe while having a beer.

"You really know how to make an impression on others, Bokuto-san" the reporter suddenly said, receiving a grunt from the golden-eyed man beside him.

"Kaashi... please, I'm trying to forget the face of that couple when I yelled that I didn't want to have sex with you when we were at the bus stop..."

Keiji laughed heartily.

"They were probably surprised that you wanted to miss the chance," Keiji joked.

"Although it seems old-fashioned, it doesn't seem right to sleep with someone on the first date" Bokuto declared.

"Is this our first date?" the raven asked smirking.

Bokuto fixed his gaze on him. His golden eyes looked like two suns. Two beautiful and playful suns.

"Of course not, our first date will be in at New year, pretty romantic, don't you think?" Bokuto asked.

Keiji laughed heartily.

When he saw that the bus screen showed his stop, he touched the arm of his companion.

_"Washington Av/Dean St"_

"It's out stop."

Unlike the previous time, Bokuto got off the bus with him.

"My apartment is over there" the black-haired man, starting to walk the greek food restaurant.

"Wow, how convenient, I really like greek food" the musician declared, smiling as he walked next to him. "I would like to live above a greek restaurant... N-Not that I want to l-live in your a-apartment! I-I mean...! It would be g-great to live h-here! But n-not with you! B-But I would love to l-live with...!"

"D-Don't w-worry... I-I understood y-you" Keiji stuttered turning to see the musician, being able to notice the blush on his cheeks even with the darkness of the night.

Shortly after, they met at the restaurant's door, while Keiji went through his pockets.

"Where...?

And then he remembered.

The battle against the door of his apartment.

How he had left the keys on the ground so he could fight the door with his two hands.

"Shit!" he exclaimed annoyed with himself before starting to laugh.

A voice in the back of his mind whispered that Bokuto would probably freak out because his strange habit of laughing when things didn't go according to his plans.

"You know? I like to listen to you when you laugh so you don't get too frustrated" the gray haired man declared as snowflakes accumulated on the hood of his parka. "It's cute."

"Is either that or cry, and I refuse to cry because I forgot my keys."

Bokuto laughed heartily before putting an arm around his shoulders and pulling Keiji against his chest and making him start walking to the bus stop.

"I guess it's not an option to call your landlord."

Keiji shook his head.

"It's too late, Hubbert-san will probably be asleep."

"Hubbert? Is your landlord's name is Hubbert?"

"What name did you expect it to be?"

"I don't know, Aristotle?"

The reporter raised an eyebrow.

"Why did you think that?"

"Because you live above a greek food restaurant! I was expecting a greek name!"

Keiji laughed heartily.

"If it makes you feel better, I think that Mr. Hubbert's mother was greek, something like Guianopolus, one of the photographs of the restaurant says that..."

"I knew it!" the musician exclaimed, raising a fist in victory.

"Where are we going, Bokuto-san?" the journalist asked without trying to remove the arm that Bokuto had on his shoulders.

"Isn't it obvious? To my apartment! We are having a sleepover!"

Keiji smirked.

"What happened to your moral code of not sleeping with someone on the first date?" the raven asked jokingly.

Koutarou smirked.

"Well, I can make an exception, after all, this is notour first date, not yet at least" the golden eyed boy said before getting quiet and blush. "I-I don't mean as...!-I mean as in s-sleep! W-We won't have s-sex!"

Keiji nodded blushing.

"I-I know, B-Bokuto-san..."

Both of them stayed silent until the bus stopped in front of them.

.

"It's much better to live above a pharmacy" Akaashi said smiling . "It's useful."

Koutarou smiled as they walked to the door of the building.

"It would be more useful if it didn't close at 9:30..."

The journalist shrugged.

"Still better than walking two blocks to the nearest pharmacy" Akaashi muttered as he passed inside the building when Koutarou held the door for him.

When he opened the door to his apartment, Koutarou was grateful that everything was more or less in it's place.

The only things out of place in the living room were a guitar and notebook on the couch, the drumsticks on the coffee table, and the computer and headphones on the chair that he had moved from the small dinning table to the living room.

"Come in."

"Excuse me" muttered the journalist leaving his shoes at the entrance without Koutarou having to ask him.

That was kind of a relief. His last boyfriend, which he had dated a few years ago, had never quite understood that little but essential rule in Koutarou's life. He remembered how on several occasions his nights of fun in bed had been ruined by Koutarou asking him to take off his shoes at the entrance, or because Zachary walked into the living room with his shoes on.

When he saw Akaashi walk onto the wooden floor wearing only socks, Koutarou rushed over.

Wait! The floor is freezing, let me turn on the heater! A...! Ah! I'll go for a pair of sli...!"

Akaashi's laugh silenced him.

"Relax, Bokuto-san. I'm used to cold floors, my apartment doesn't have a heater" the raven declared.

Koutarou turned on the heater and turned to see the journalist, eyes wide in surprise. "

Huh? And how do you survive?" the musician asked as he got rid of the layers of clothing, leaving only his Stranger Things shirt.

"I don't use so many sweaters for no reason..." replied the black-haired man imitating Koutarou and remaining only in a blue button-down shirt.

Koutarou chuckled slightly as he moved his guitar around.

"Makes sense, so when I go to your apartment should I use about ten sweaters?" Koutarou asked, sitting on the couch and lightly tapping the seat next to him, to indicate to Akaashi to sit next to him.

"Don't be ridiculous... five will be enough" the journalist declared sitting next to him.

Koutarou laughed heartily.

A comforting silence enveloped them for a few minutes.

"So what do you want to do in this little spontaneous sleepover?" the gary haired boy asked taking TV remote. "We can watch something on the TV, and I think I still have some Ghirardelli's hot cocoa that I bought when I went to San Francisco..."

"Is it too sweet? The cocoa?"

Koutarou smirked before getting up and heading to the small kitchen, from where he took out two cups, milk, and three packages of powdered chocolate.

"You'll tell me, OK?" Koutarou asked as he lit the stove and poured the milk in a pot. "What do you want? Caramel chocolate, double chocolate or white chocolate?"

"Which one is the least sweet?" the raven asked, sitting down on one of the kitchen stools.

Koutarou rolled his eyes.

"The caramel chocolate."

"Then that one."

"Is there a reason why you don't like sweet things?"

"Because I prefer my drinks to be as bitter as I am" the journalist said smirking.

"Oh, then I'll make you a white chocolate one, it's the sweetest of all" Koutarou replied, staring at Akaashi's sea-colored eyes.

And just as he expected, Akaashi blushed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you think? I had the snow scene in central park planned for the Black Friday Night in the second episode, but then I decided that Akaashi would back off in the episode 3 and saved the scene for later. I hope I haven't ruined it and you liked it!
> 
> And this is important! When you end a relationship it is always good to take some time before your next relationship, but DON'T LET NOBODY TELL YOU HOW LONG YOU HAVE TO WAIT! That is something personal and no one should have an opinion on it! That said, that is not why you should not see anyone at that time, you can use that time to get to know yourself or someone else... Remember! Your private life is yours and no one should pressure or judge you!
> 
> And well! You know that the kudos and comments make me very happy!  
> Any doubt, comment, criticism or anything you want to tell me, you know, the box below is exactly for that!
> 
> Take care! ♥


	9. A day running

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I'm here!"
> 
> "Late, as always" added the blond who played the drums.
> 
> "It wasn't my fault! The subway was bursting!" Bokuto exclaimed. "Which guitar did Kuroo bring? The Ibañez?"
> 
> The blond turned to see him surprised.
> 
> " You didn't bring your guitar?"
> 
> Keiji felt Bokuto tense next to him.
> 
> "Didn't he bring my guitar? I told Kuroo to stop at my apartment to pick up one of my guitars" the gray haired man said.
> 
> .
> 
> "How could you do that to me?" Koutarou shouted when he saw that his friend entere the bar smiling dumbfounded.
> 
> "Huh?"
> 
> "You said you would pick up my guitar on your way here!"
> 
> The color disappeared from the raven's face.
> 
> "Shit! Yesterday I stayed at Kenma's...!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLO! First of all, I hope you don't mind the long chapter! I thought about dividing it in two, but I really believed that there was no good place to leave the chapter, the only good thing is that I ended up with a single chapter!  
> Also.. This chapter has KuroKen, a little more than the normal dose of what I write about the secondary couples in this story, the truth is I had wanted to do it for a while, but I was waiting for this chapter to do it ... I hope you don't mind! The couples that I mention in the tags are secondary, but I wanted to dedicate a special moment to those two ...  
> Oh! and in the chapter I mention that they sing three songs, I'll leave the links here:  
> [Four Leave Clover - The Kooks](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQBlMED-R4k)  
> [Bad Habit - The Kooks](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGxSsD9xPPU)  
> [Westside - The Kooks](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqM-M35guWE)
> 
> I try to leave you the links of live performances because I really love the attitude of the vocalist and for me it seems perfect for Bokuto.
> 
> And wel! Enjoy!!

"Are you sure you don't want to come? You won't have to pay the ticket" Koutarou asked as he walked to the door of Oikawa's house being followed by Akaashi.

"We would love to! But we have a party with some friends from high school" Oikawa replied as Iwaizumi ran to the kitchen. "But we'll probably go to Times Square to see the ball drop..."

"The concert will probably end at 10, because the bar does somekind of a light show at midnight, if you go to Times Square you could tell us so catch up with you" said the gray-haired man fixing his scarf. "You wanted to go, right, Kaashi?"

Akaashi turned to see him before smiling slightly and nodding to continue putting on his beanie.

"It would be nice, but only if we can, I rather not be stressed about getting there on time" the raven replied.

"Come on Kaashi, it's like twenty minutes away."

"On a normal day, Bokuto-san..."

"You are right, the subway will be full of people wanting to get there" Iwaizumi intervened holding two brown paper bags. "Here, turkey sandwiches, so you can eat something, I don't think you can eat much at the bar..."

Koutarou took one of the bags smiling.

"Thank you!"

"Thank you, Iwaizumi-san."

" Will you go to the shrine tomorrow?" Iwaizumi asked.

"I plan to, and you?"

Oikawa shrugged and Iwaizumi frowned.

"Iwa-chan said that he will go whether I go o no... Will you go with Akaa-chan, Bokkun?"

Koutarou scratched his temple somewhat embarassed.

"Yes, I have never been in a Japanese shrine so I figured it would be fun..."

"That Inari shrine is cute, but nothing compared to going to a real shrine in Japan" Oikawa said smiling . "People even wear traditional clothes to visit them..."

Koutarou smiled and turned to see the reporter.

"Have you ever done that?"

Akaashi gave him a smirk.

"It is more common for women to wear kimonos for the first visit of the year, but yes, sometimes I have used a kimono for the Hatsumode" the raven declared. "Maybe if it wasn't so cold I'd use the one I have here..."

"It's a pity you don't get to see him like that, Bokkun, the kimono matches his eyes perfectly" said Oikawa taking the bags of food from Akaashi's hands so he could fix his sweaters. "When Akaa-chan wears it, he looks like a period drama actor..."

The image of Akaashi wearing a kimono with the color of his eyes appeared in his mind, and for a moment he cursed the weather.

"You won't wear it?" the man with gray hair asked, turning to see the journalist.

"It will be too cold, Bokuto-san."

"How about after? Can we go to your apartment so I can see you wearing it?" the musician asked smiling.

The raven shrugged.

"I guess so."

"Well, well, I didn't you were into roll games" Oikawa said smirking. "Akaa-chan will be a Meiji era prince, and you? A foreigner who falls in love with the prince...?"

A punch from Iwaizumi silenced the brunette.

"Do you always have to be an asshole?" Iwaizumi asked before giving a sideways glance to the two boys with flushed faces in front of him.

When both boys found themselves wrapped in their jackets, scarves, gloves and hats, they left the warmth of the house and went into the bitting cold of the street, where the snow fell incessantly.

"Be careful! Happy New Year!" Oikawa yelled before hugging them both.

"Happy New Year, Oikawa-san, Iwaizumi-san. I wish you all the best for this new year" Akaashi said returning Oikawa's hug before hugging Iwaizumi.

"Happy New Year, Oikawa, Iwaizumi, I hope we can see each other more this year!" exclaimed Koutarou patting Oikawa's shoulder before hugging Iwaizumi and give him another pat on the shoulder.

"Same here, be careful and Happy New Year," Iwaizumi replied before the guests started walking down the stairs.

As they walked to the subway station, Koutarou decided to ask something that had been on his mind for a long time.

"Hey, Kaashi?"

"Yeah?"

"Why do we speak in Japanese with them today but not at Christmas?"

"Daichi-san doesn't speak Japanese, so when we are with him we speak in English..."

Kotarou nodded before starting down the stairs leading to the subway.

.

"I'm here!"

"Late, as always" added the blond who played the drums.

"It wasn't my fault! The subway was bursting!" Bokuto exclaimed. "Which guitar did Kuroo bring? The Ibañez?"

The blond turned to see him surprised.

" You didn't bring your guitar?"

Keiji felt Bokuto tense next to him.

"Didn't he bring my guitar? I told Kuroo to stop at my apartment to pick up one of my guitars" the gray haired man said.

"Why did you ask Kuroo to bring your guitar instead of bringing it yourself?" the blond asked taking of his glasses to rub his nose bridge.

"Because I was going to have lunch with Kaashi and some of his friends, and I knew that the subway would be bursting... and Kuroo said he would bring his car!"

A long-haired young man with bleached ends, who until then had been playing on a Nintendo Switch, took his eyes off the screen, fixing his gaze first on Keiji and then on Bokuto.

"Kuro slept at my apartment, that's why he didn't go to pick your guitar."

"Why didn't he tell me that from the beginning?"

"He decided to stay at the last moment."

Keiji smirked as he saw how Bokuto rolled his eyes before starting to look around for something or someone, probably looking for the bassist of his group.

"Where's that idiot?" he finally asked.

"He said he had to do something, but it won't take long, he said he'd be back at six" Tsukishima replied.

"Aren't you going to introduce us to your friend?" The long-haired man suddenly asked, returning his gaze to Keiji.

"Ah! Yeah! Guys! This is my friend, Akaashi Keiji!" the guitarist exclaimed as he put his arm around Keiji's shoulders and flushing him to his body.

Tsukishima arched an eyebrow before extending a hand.

"Nice to meet you, Tsukishima Kei, I'm the drummer" the blond with glasses introduced himself.

Keiji nodded, pulling away from Bokuto and taking Tsukishima's hand.

"Nice to meet you, by the way, you play pretty well."

The blond smirked.

"Oh? Do you also play something? It was obvious that Bokuto would look for someone who is also obsessed with music..."

Keiji felt his cheeks turn red.

"I d-don't..."

"Tsukki! Akaashi is my friend!" exclaimed Bokuto.

Tsukishima gave him a look that implied that he didn't believe for a second that their relationship was a simple friendship before nodding.

"And I don't play any instrument, but I can still appreciate that you play quite well" the jorunalist muttered.

The blonde smirked before nodding.

"Thanks."

"Kozume Kenma" the man with long hair suddenly said.

"Nice to meet you, Kozume-san."

"Kenma is Kuroo's boyfriend, he usually can't come to our concerts because he's streaming video games. Is great that you can see us in our last concert of the year!" Bokuto exclaimed smiling.

"Kuroo would have made a drama if I missed it " Kozume replied.

"The point is that you are here" Bokuto declared before placing his arm on Keiji's shoulders. "And where's Yamaguchi?"

"He's at a work lunch, but he'll be here before we start..."

Keiji smirked at the chat before the initial problem that Bokuto asking about the whereabouts of different people returned to his mind.

"Bokuto-san, what about your guitar?"

Bokuto tensed again.

"This isn't a terrible prank?" the guitarist asked with some palpable hope in his voice.

The two men in front of him shaked their heads at the same time.

"Kuro must have forgotten to warn you about not going back to his apartment" Kozume said before returning to stare at his game.

"It's 5:47, if you leave now you will be back on time" Tsukishima said after checking his phone.

"Could you give me a ride, Tsukki?"

"Tadashi took the car."

"I think it would be better if you use the subway, the traffic is nuts, remember that they closed the streets before and after Times Square" Kenma added.

"But we still have to check the lights, and do sound tests and I'm the only one who knows how..."

Keiji bit his lip before taking a deep breath.

"I can go get the guitar" he offered.

Bokuto's stunned look made him regret having offered his help.

He was about to say something to withdrawn his offer before feeling Bokuto take his hand and place a set of keys on his palm.

"I will owe you my life after this" the golden-eyed man declared before smiling.

Keiji ran to the Ozone Park Station as fast as he could, being about to slip a couple of times due to the snow.

.

"How could you do that to me?" Koutarou shouted when he saw that his friend entere the bar smiling dumbfounded.

"Huh?"

"You said you would pick up my guitar on your way here!"

The color disappeared from the raven's face.

"Shit! Yesterday I stayed at Kenma's...!"

"We guessed that a while ago" Tsukishima said before getting up and walking to the stage where his drum set were disassembled, being followed by Kenma, who wans't interested in listening to the argument.

"Come on, Bo! If we leave right now we'll probably be on time!" Kuroo yelled taking Koutarou's arm.

"Relax, Ku..." the gray-haired boy began to say as Kuroo looked their surrounding.

"You don't understand! I need you to play your fucking guitar!"

"I'm telling you to calm down Kuroo, Ak..."

"Bo! I know that we can back out in any concert, but you don't understand, we need... I need us to play!"

"Kuroo, do you want to stop interrupting me? I'm telling you to calm down...!"

"I want to ask Kenma to marry me!"

Koutarou froze for a moment, which Kuroo took advantage of to pull him out of the bar, before the man with gold eyes grinned.

"About time! Congrats!"

"Yeah, well I can't to ask him if you don't have your stupid guitar. So hurry up!"

"That's what I'm trying to tell you! Akaashi went for it!"

The raven stopped for a moment.

"Are you telling me that you trusted one of your $1500 guitars to someone you have only seen a couple of times in a month?" Kuroo asked.

Koutarou smirked.

"First of all, one of my Ibañez cost me 2000 and my Stratocaster costs 2500..."

"My point remains the same, Bo..."

"And Akaashi would never do something like that."

"You hardly even know him, maybe..."

Koutarou shook his head.

"I can swear on my life that Akaashi would never do something like that."

The raven sighed before entering the bar.

"You trust too easily."

Koutarou shrugged, deciding not to remember the times when that had brought him into some bad situations.

"So what's the plan?"

"Well, I already have the ring..."

The gray haired man smiled.

"Wait! Tsukki needs to know too!" He exclaimed before turning to the stage, where Tsukishima was setting his drums and Kenma was playing with his Switch. "Tsukki! Come here a sec!"

The blonde answered something they couldn't hear before putting down his drums and walking towards them.

"Bokuto, I know you have nothing to do until Akaashi comes back, but I have to assemble my drums and check..."

"This is more important! Kuroo...!"

Kuroo's hand prevented the guitarist from continuing to yell.

"It's supposed to be a surprise!" whispered the raven, clearly mortified.

"Oh, sorry."

"What is so important?" Tsukishima asked once he was in front of them, placing one hand on his hip and one on the back of his neck.

"I'll ask Kenma to marry me" Kuroo declared, taking a small box out of his jacket.

"About time" the blond said smirking.

"Why can't you say something else?"

"Congratulations" the blond said as if he was talking about the traffic.

"That's all? Nothing more to say?" Kuroo asked clearly offended.

Koutarou laughed heartily, probably because Kuroo hadn't noticed, but Tsukishima's eyes had a glint of emotion that was only seen when something seemed interesting to him.

"Kuroo wants to propose with a song, right?" The gray-haired man said smiling.

Tsukishima raised an eyebrow.

"Huh? We don't have any song that works for that, do you plan to change the lyrics to any of them?"

"I plan to use the song I've been working on..."

Koutarou bit his lip before exchanging a slightly concerned glance with Tsukishima.

"Kuroo, usually I would tell you that we can play any new song, but I don't have my guitar to practice..."

"We need to be able to play it at least once together so we can be in sync" added the blonde.

The raven shook his head.

"No, no, no, I'm sure we can do it, the two of you have already helped me with the melody" Kuroo said before going to where his case was and taking out a notebook. "See, the melody is pretty much the same as the one you have heard, I just changed a few chords and the tempo by a couple of..."

Tsukishima frowned.

"Kuroo, I'm not sure... I would have to practice the new rhythm... and Bokuto won't have his guitar to follow me while we rehearse..."

Kuroo shook his head.

"Come on! You know he can be an idiot but he is a damn music genius! If you and I manage to be in sync it will be enough!"

If it hadn't been about something as important as his best friend's marriage proposal, Koutarou's ego would probably have boost to the sky.

"Kuroo, don't you want to use another song? We can use _Junk of the Heart_..."

"No! I need to use this song! It's the song I wrote for this day!" the raven said giving his friends a pleading look. "I need you to sing this song, Bokuto..."

Koutarou closed his eyes before nodding, feeling his phone vibrate in his pants.

"Tell me you have a damn recording of that song..."

"I have some recordings on my phone!" Kuroo exclaimed immediately taking out his phone. "I know I don't play the guitar as well as you do, but if I could play that... I know you can do it a thousand times better..."

"That's if his boyfriend is on time" Tsukishima muttered, checking Kuroo's notebook.

"He is not my boyfriend, not yet... And he will get here on time, I'm sure"the gray-haired man said showing them the message that had arrived at that moment.

_"You have too many guitars!"_

"Well, I thought it would take him longer to get there" Tsukishima said obviously impressed by the fact that Akaashi got to his department in less than an hour.

"He probably ran " Bokuto replied.

"When he get's here I will pay for his drinks" Kuroo declared passing a hand through his hair, which, as it was always disheveled, didn't change at all.

Koutarou laughed heartily before turning to see his friend.

"What do you say, the Ibañez?"

Kuroo turned to see him surprised.

" I don't want your best guitar to get hurt in the subway..." the bassist muttered.

The golden-eyed boy smirked.

"If I don't use my best guitar in my best friend's proposal, when will I use it?"

"You are lucky to bring my cowbell, I was about to leave it..." Tsukishima murmured before starting to walk to the stage. "If you want this to work, we'd better start working..."

Both men nodded before Kuroo started looking for headphones so Koutarou could hear the song.

"By the way, Kuroo" the guitarist said before putting on the headphones. "You will sing this song..."

The bassist turned to see him as if he had grown a second head.

"Huh? What are you talking about? I need this to be perfect! Don't start with your games!"

Koutarou smirked.

"This song is your proposal for Kenma, I can't sing it!"

"Do I need to remember you how I sing?"

The gray-haired man frowned.

Kuroo's voice was horrible.

.

_"Please bring me the Ibañez."_

Keiji frowned as he read the message.

There were two guitars whose handles had the word Ibañez written on them.

_"There are two, which one do you need?"_

Keiji waited a while for Bokuto's answer before losing his patience.

He fixed his eyes first on the black guitar, noticing that the neck of the guitar had some pearly squares, then he looked at the red guitar.

He checked his phone again. There was no answer.

He counted the strings of the guitars, checking that both had six strings, ruling out that one of them was a bass.

If he waited much longer, he wouldn't be able to take the bus and would have to wait another twenty minutes for the next one.

He closed his eyes thinking that the black guitar would look better with the green shirt that Bokuto was wearing. He took the guitar, tried to place it in two cases, being a little better in the second case, which was a little heavier than the other, and placed it on his back. He rolled his shoulders slightly once the department was closed. The instrument was heavier than I expected.

He walked as fast as he could to get to the bus stop, after all he couldn't risk falling with a guitar that he assumed was quite expensive on his back.

Minutes later, just as he was turning the corner of the bus stop, he noticed a person getting on the bus.

If there was a moment to run, that was it.

"Wait!" The raven shouted when he saw how the woman disappeared behind the doors of the bus.

Just when he was at the rear wheels of the bus, he noticed how the doors closed.

"Shit!" he yelled at the same time he gave blow to transport with fist, feeling the engine start. "Wait!"

Obviously the driver hadn't heard him, soon the truck began to move forward as Keiji's legs stopped.

Just to stop a couple of feet ahead opening the doors.

A couple of knocks on the window caused Keiji to look up, meeting the smile of a red-haired man who pointed to the front of the bus. The raven ran again just as the doors began to close again.

"Hurry up I don't have all day! Or do you want to wait for the next bus?"

"Sorry" Keiji muttered as he swiped his MTA card through the reader.

"You're lucky your friend saw you" the driver declared.

Keiji said nothing before moving to the back of the bus, where the ginger gave him a smile.

"Thank you."

"It's nothing, I how it feels like to run to a performance" said the redhead, showing a square case. "Do you play in a band?"

Keiji shook his head before taking the seat next to the boy.

"No... My friend plays in a band, but something happened and he didn't bring his guitar, they have to do the sound check, so I offered to pick up the guitar."

"I see, so he will give a concert."

"Yes."

"And are they good? Is your friend good?"

Keiji smiled before nodding.

"Very good. And you?"

The redhead smiled.

"Well, today we will have a New Year's party at the restaurant that I work and I offered to play some songs" declared the ginger.

"Are you a chef?"

"I wish I'm... I'm a bartender."

They continued talking until Keiji saw his stop displayed on the bus screen.

"This is my stop, it was nice to you... Ah..."

"Zachary."

Keiji smiled before getting up.

"It was nice meeting you, Zachary-san."

The redhead laughed heartily.

"Well, you're the second Japanese that doesn't seem to be Japanese that I've met..." Zachary muttered smirking. "What is your name?"

"Akaashi Keiji."

"It was nice to meet you, Akaashi."

When Keiji got off the bus he turned to the window where Zachary was sitting, who waved goodbye as the bus pulled away.

.

Half an hour to go before they had to start playing, Koutarou remembered feeling his phone vibrate. At the time he had ignored it, deciding to dedicate his concentration to remembering the lyrics of the song and how it was synchronized with the melody, and then devoting his concentration fully to listening to Kuroo's recording while reading the sheet music that Kuroo had given him.

_"There are two, which one do you need?"_

"Shit, " the gray haired man muttered, catching the attention of Konoha, who was sitting on the stage, with Yukie sitting on his lap.

"Huh? Something happened?" the blond asked stretching his neck to see the guitarist's phone.

"I forgot to tell Kaashi which guitar to pick" the gray-haired one answered. If he thought about it, the worst scenario was that he had taken the old AL model, which wouldn't be really bad, it would just mean that he wouldn't be playing his best guitar. He sighed, Akaashi would probably take that guitar, after all it was more eye-catching because it was bright red.

"Oh, Kaashi? That's your boyfriend's name?" The girl asked, getting up from her boyfriend's lap.

Koutarou rolled his eyes.

"He's not my boyfriend, we're getting to know each other. And his name is Akaashi, I'm the only one that can call him Kaashi" Koutarou replied.

Yukie smirked.

"Well, before we were like officially together, Akinori and I got to know each other in his bed," replied the redhead, laughing.

"Not only in my bed..."

The musician covered his ears.

"Stop it! Shut up! I don't wanna know that!"

The couple laughed heartily.

"I still don't understand why it bothers you so much to know about our sex life when ypu know all about the sex lives of Kuroo and Kozume" Yukie said smiling mockingly.

"Because I have known Kuroo and Kenma since high school! But I've known you since kindergarten!" The musician shouted turning to see his friend.

"Honestly, I don't see why you feel that way, I don't mind know the details of what you do with Kaashi" Yukie said smirking. "I bet that would be interesting... Is that Kaashi?"

Koutarou turned his head so fast that he thought he had splained his neck.

Akaashi was at the door of the place, gasping to catch his breath with a guitar case on his back.

"Kaashi!" Koutarou exclaimed before bolting to the entrance. Once in front of the raven, he placed his hands on his shoulders, making Akaashi turn to see him. His cheeks and nose were flushed, a few drops of sweat ran down his cheek and his pupils were dilated. "Breathe..."

He removed the guitar from Akaashi's back, being careful doing so, and placed it on his back. Once that was done, he placed a hand on the reporter's back and guided him onto the stage, where the band and their friends had gathered. When he noticed that the raven's breathing became somewhat more stable, he decided it was time to speak again.

"Everythings OK Kaashi? Don't tell me you ran from the park to here..."

"I won't tell you then, Bokuto-san" the journalist said smirking. "I didn't know which guitar you wanted, so I brought the one that I thought looked the best."

Koutarou avoided sighing before taking down his case and opening it. In the case was his best guitar, an Ibañez THBB10.

The guitarist smirked.

"For a moment I was afraid you were going to grab the red one."

The journalist shrugged.

"I thought the black guitar would look better with your clothes."

Koutaou laughed heartily.

"As Kou does not seem to have manners I will introduce myself, I am Shirofuku Yukie, Kou's friend since kindergarten, and he is Konoha Akinori, Kou's friend since high school."

"Akaashi Keiji, Bokuto-san's friend since November" the raven introduced himself. "Nice to meet you."

"So, Akaashi w..."

"Bo! If you have your guitar come here! We need to practice it!" Kuroo's voice shouted cutting off the conversation.

Koutarou turned to see Akaashi.

It was supposed he would spend that day with Akaashi, and at that moment the only time they had spent together was at Oikawa's house and on their way to the bar. The last two hours Akaashi had spent in the MTA, which was bursting due to the date, and running.

It clearly was a perfect first date.

"Relax Bo, we 'll take care of him" Konoha said smirking.

"Yes, calm down we will tell all your embarrassing stories, like your sexual awakening watching Twilight" Yukie added.

"Hey! I don't want you to scare him...!" exclaimed Koutarou glaring at his friend, who had decided to reveal one of his most embarrassing moments.

"Bo! We need to practice it at least once!"

Suddenly he felt Akaashi's hand on his shoulder.

"Relax, Bokuto-san. I want to know everything about how you started to fantasize about Jacob" the raven said smirking.

"Oh, that would have been better than what actually happened" Konoha said.

"I'll tell you this, a hoddie wasn't enough to hide the boner that Robert Pattinson gave him."

Akaashi's laugh, followed by Konoha's and Yukie's laugh rang in his ears as he walked over to where the rest of the band waited for him.

.

" So, you are Bo's mysterious friend, " said the blonde whom Shirofuku had introduced as Konoha.

"Mysterious?" asked Keiji.

"Of course, Kou made a point by looking for all of us who would come and threating us so that we wouldn't scare you" Shirofuku said smiling before taking a last sip of her drink. "Would you bring me another one?" She asked turning to see her boyfriend.

"I'll go for a beer" said Keiji extending his arm to take the glass from the woman.

"Oh don't worry, Akinori can bring them, right?"

Konoha sighed before nodding as Akaashi raised an eyebrow, that girl wasn't planning on hiding her attempt to talk to him alone.

"Yukie, just don't scare him OK? The last thing we need is..."

The redhead waved her hand dismissing the comment before lightly nudging her boyfriend towards the bar.

"Relax, we'll just talk a little bit, " she said as the blond continued to walk away from them. Once it was obvious that the blond couldn't hear, she furrowed her brown and folded her arms. "Spill it, what do you want with Kou?"

Keiji straightened up before answering, deciding to use his work facade to deal with the woman. After all, he didn't want to give the impression of being a shy writer, he knew that if he showed any kind of weakness in front of the girl, at least at that moment, she would not let it pass.

"We are friends" the raven declared . "We are getting to know each other."

The woman nodded without changing her posture.

"Do you know that Kou's intention isn;t just being your friend?"

Keiji cursed that he had no control over when he blushed and when he didn't. He was sure his serious facade had suffered a severe blow from the heat that had flooded his face.

"Bokuto-san and I agree that before taking any step we must first get to know each other better" replied the journalist.

The woman blinked clearly surprised.

"That was your idea? Or Kou's?"

"My idea was to not to let any of this happen, Bokuto-san was the one who told me that he wanted to meet me before I tried..."

"It's that so? It seems that that idiot learned something from his mistakes" Shirofuku muttered, making Keiji shut up, before staring at him. "Why didn't you want anything to happen? What do you want?"

The reporter sighed.

He really needed a beer for that conversation.

"I had a bad break up recently, it didn't seem wise to start a relationship so soon. Bokuto-san convinced me that we could wait a while and in the meantime get to know each other better" Keiji summed up trying to give as little detail as possible. "And I'm sorry Shirofuku-san but that's all I am going to tell you about it."

The girl smirked before nodding.

"Oh calm down, if you continue dating Kou I will get the rest of the story" the girl declared smirking.

Keiji made a mental note to be careful around that girl.

"Yukie, please tell me you didn't scared him too much" Konoha said holding two beers and a glass of gin tonic, judging by the lemon slices and mint was inside the liquid. "Bo will be impossible to cheer up if you scare him..."

"A couple of questions are not enough to scare me, Konoha-san" the reporter declared, making the blonde smile closing his eyes.

"I'm glad, because Yukie isn't even drunk, so... good luck" Konoha said before raising his hand and wave it. "Washio! Here!"

A few seconds later a man as tall as Bokuto appeared next to him.

"Hey! Washio! Good to see you! How are you doing?" The redhead greeted. "Oh! Before I forget! He's Akaashi! He's Kou's boyfriend!"

As Keiji felt his face heat up, Konoha gave him a look pleading him to excuse the woman.

"Oh?" Said the newcomer.

"Akaashi Keiji, I'm a friend of Bokuto-san" the raven greeted extending a hand.

The man smiled slightly before nodding.

"Washio Tatsuki, friend of this two and Bokuto" the newcomer introduced himself. "I'm sorry if you've had to deal with Shirofuku, Konoha is unable to stop her."

Keiji smiled.

He liked Bokuto's friends.

.

As he played the tune that he had been listening to non-stop for an hour, he noticed how little by little the voices in the bar had begun to lower the volume, probably in anticipation that the band would soon begin to play.

He turned to see his friend, who was smiling from side to side.

"Perfect as always, Bo."

"Don't tell him that, you'll boost his ego..." Tsukishima growled.

"Do not worry, Tsukki, we all know that I could never play drums like you" Koutarou said smiling.

Tsukishima seemed willing to say some comment that would make Koutarou retract his words, but Kuroo cut him off.

"Then, we will start with _Four Leaf Clover_ " Kuroo said playing the first notes of the song on his bass, which was unplugged.

Suddenly Koutarou remembered that since Akaashi hadn't been with him during the soundcheck, he hadn't had a chance to explain anything to him about that song.

"Shit! Give me a moment!" He yelled before getting off the stage.

"Bo! We have to start now!" Kuroo yelled.

"Kaashi!" the gray-haired boy shouted trying to find the reporter among the people who had gathered in front of the stage, being somewhat difficult because the lights of the place were practically off, the only lights being the ones from the bar.

"Bo! Over here!" Konoha's voice shouted not far from him.

He smiled when he saw Akaashi with his friends, now they were joined by Washio, Komi and Suzumeda.

"Hey! Hello! I'm so glad you could come!" he greeted before turning his full attention to Akaashi. "Kaashi!"

"Did something happened, Bokuto-san?" the raven asked once Koutarou found himself in front of them, receiving in response a nod from the golden-eyed man.

"Kaashi, I'm going to sing a song that may sound strange to you, but it doesn't talk about you, but about a boy I dated a couple of times..."

Akaashi raised an eyebrow.

"OK?... Don't worry Bokuto-san, I understand" the journalist said smirking.

Koutarou smiled before nodding and running back to the stage.

"Shall we start?" Kuroo asked, who was already in his usual spot.

The gray-haired man was glad Akaashi had taken the case that had most of his pedals, which he had prepared the day before for Kuroo to pick up. He made sure the acoustic pedal was in place before turning to see Kuroo and nodding.

"It's now or never. Tsukki!" Kuroo yelled.

When the third hit of Tsukishima's drumsticks was heard, Koutarou pressed his pedal.

.

" _Still in a mess, still udressed, as the kettle whistle blows"_ Bokuto's voice began to sing at the same time that the music began to resonate in the place. " _Paperback novelette still open and the door is closed."_

"Oh, I love that song!" shouted a blond girl with freckled face, who had introduced herself as Suzumeda Kaori a few minutes ago.

Keiji smiled closing his eyes as he let his shoulders and body move slightly in time with the music, enjoying the way the vibrations of the music resonated in his bones.

" _You got a real sick mind, you write a column for The Times"_ Keiji's eyes widened upon hearing that, was that why Bokuto had worried about telling him that there was a song that was not about him but someone else? " _For all the lovers gone blind, who are looking for a sign.i"_

"Do not worry, Bo wrote that song when stopped seeing that guy" Konoha said patting his shoulder, at that moment Keiji noticed that he had stopped moving. "It didn't really mean anything."

" _And when the night is over and the drugs are gone, all you've got is your four leaf clover you keep inside your coat_ " - Bokuto's voice continued singing, making Keiji wonder what kind of person he had dated before. " _And when the night is over and the drugs are gone, you feel the world is getting colder, you got no one to hold_."

"Yeah! Don't worry! You are so much better than that asshole!" Shirofuku shouted while hugging Konoha and giving him a smile.

Keiji let Bokuto's music and voice envelop him so that his body could rock to the rhythm of it again, but instead of closing his eyes, he fixed his gaze on Bokuto, who in turn was staring at him. He wasn't sure how he knew, after all he could be looking at anyone in his direction, but somehow he knew that the guitarist's golden eyes were focused only on him.

" _Six pages down and he's lighting up his trainwreck soul . He was abandoned by his lover, left by the road_." A voice at the back of his mind told him that he understood perfectly how the person of the song felt, he knew pretty well how it felt to be abandoned. " _So apalling, scrawling those bullshit words, it's thristy work. He'll stumble down the boozer just to have a flirt_."

Was the song referring to Bokuto? Or was he referring to his former partner? Something told him that the song spoke of both.

"This song was the only good thing that dickhead left him!" Suzumeda yelled raising her arms.

" _You got a real sick mind, you write a column for the Times_." Was Bokuto's old partner also a journalist? " _For all the lovers gone blind who are looking for a sign."_

Bokuto had told him that he hadn't had a boyfriend for years, did that mean that the person in that song had been his last partner? Or was it a lover he had had during that time? Or before? Somehow he imagined a younger Bokuto trying to find that man, seeking to find any clue that would lead the golden-eyed boy to him.

" _And when the night is over and the drugs are gone, all you've got is your four leaf clover you keep inside your coat_." Was it a drug problem that led them to separate? He decided not to think about it too much, probably Bokuto would explain everything about the song later, the intensity of the guitarist's eyes seemed to scream that he would have his answers later. " _And when the night is over and the drugs are gone, you feel the world is getting colder, you got no one to hold. You got no one to hold."_

A blow to his side made him take his eyes off Bokuto. He turned to his left, looking for the person responsible for it, ready to apologize even if the most logical thing was that the other person was at fault. He looked down slightly, meeting Kozume's long hair.

"Sorry!" shouted Kozume. "Those idiots pushed me!"

Keiji turned to see the place that Kenma had indicated with his head, meeting a group of couples who danced without worrying if their movements and arms were pushing the others.

"In the next song we will push them!" Komi shouted smiling. "Good to see you, Kenma! Where are the others?"

" _You got a real sick mind. You got a real sick mind_ ". Bokuto's lost his attention for a moment.

"Tora is coming and Fukunaga is at the bar!" The boy replied before looking to the stage, specifically where the bass player was.

Both Keiji and Komi seemed to understand the message, so they turned their attention back to the band.

Bokuto's eyes seemed to shine as he played.

" _And when the night is over and the drugs are gone, all you've got is a four leaf clover you keep inside your coat"_. The voice of the guitarist seemed to be stronger than before, and Keiji could not help thinking that somehow seemed to Bokuto was demanding his full attention. " _And when the night is over and the drugs are gone, you feel the world is getting colder, you got no one to hold."_

And despite the doubts the song had given him, Keiji couldn't help but give the man with golden eyes his full attention.

_"You got no one to hold. You got no one to hold. You got no one to hold."_

Because the middle of the stage, singing his soul to an audience full of strangers and acquaintances Bokuto seemed to be in his element.

Somehow Bokuto seemed to have been born to be the center of everyones attention, as if he was forcing the world to see him, to revolve around him.

And then he understood it.

Bokuto Koutarou was a star.

.

" _A bad, such a bad, bad habit. It's a bad habit_ " he murmured into the microphone.

He turned to see Kuroo and then Tsukishima before nodding.

His throat was sore in a pleasant way, the way it always hurt after a good concert. He knew that after that last song he would have to order something hot, because if he had a cold beer, it would end up hurting his voice.

"Hey! I hope you are having as much fun as we are on this last day of the year!" He exclaimed into the microphone, receiving in response several excited shouts from the public. "Great! Hey! It was amazing playing for you today! Everything should end! Besides, we also want to be able to start the new year by kissing someone!" he added fixing his gaze in Akaashi, who kept his sea-colored eyes on him, and winked. "So this will be our last song! It's a new song! We hope you like it!"

He took a step back, letting Kuroo come to the center of the stage and take the microphone, and took the microphone that Kuroo used to do the back vocals.

"Ah, I know this is strange because normally I only do the back vocals, but Bo and Tsukki insisted that I should sing this song, at least this time..." said the black-haired man, sounding much more nervous than normal. "So bear with me, I promise it will be the only time that I will be the lead voice."

Kuroo gave him a nervous look before nodding.

When the third hit of Tsukishima's drumsticks was heard they both began to sing in unison.

" _I was living on the Westside when you brought me south. At first you didn't like the look on me, your borders where closed"_ Kuroo's voice was as off-key as usual, but Koutarou's voice managed to harmonize the song. He noticed that once Kuroo verified that Bokuto's idea had worked, he began singing more confidently. " _Although you said I'm bad company, you stay in touch. You made it hard work for me, working for your love. But now_..."

He turned his gaze to the audience, noticing how his friends were puzzled by the fact that Kuroo was singing and he smiled. It was good to see how Kuroo took over the stage.

" _Well we can settle down, we'll start a family. 'Cause you are my best friend, and you are so good to me_ " they continued singing as Tsukishima joined the chorus. The gray-haired one smiled as more and more people began to dance to the rhythm of the new song, including Akaashi, who was rocking his torso from side to side. " _Well we can settle down, we'll start a family. 'Cause you are my best friend, and this is love song number 23._ "

Koutarou noticed how Kenma's eyes widened upon hearing that line, so he guessed that this was something Kuroo had included to catch the long-haired boy's attention.

" _You were living in the city, you had the world at your feet. You had a part time job, pleased to be living free."_ Koutarou shouted excitedly when he noticed Akaashi closed his eyes as he raised his arms and jumped with the rest of the public. " _You made it hard work for me, I had to work for your love. And now..._ "

"Kenma! Marry me!" Kuroo yelled without stopping playing.

" _Well we can settle down, and start a family. 'Cause you are my best friend, and you are so good to me_ " Koutarou continued singing, smiling when he saw how Kenma gasped without taking his eyes off Kuroo. " _Well we can settle down, start a family. 'Cause you are my best friend, and this is love song number 23._ "

The musicians' friends were surrounding Kenma, who didn't seem to finish processing what Kuroo had just asked him. Takerota ended up making him react by shaking him hard, and yelling something at him that Koutarou was not able to hear.

"You idiot! You couldn't do this in private?" shouted Kenma, making others laugh.

" _Westside..._ " Koutarou sang when he saw that Kuroo had no intention of continuing the song.

"Is that a yes?" the bassist shouted, missing a couple of chords, something that probably only they noticed.

" _Well we can settle down, we'll start a family. 'Cause you are my best friend, and you are so good to me_ " the guitarist continued to sing without taking his eyes off the scene.

" _So good, so good, so good"_ Tsukishima's voice chanted.

"Yes!" Kenma yelled starting to walk to the stage, pushing people who weren't moving fast enough out of his way.

" _And you are so good to me_ " Bokuto sang smiling from side to side when he saw how a couple of people had spilled their drink because of Kenma.

"Then come! Get up here!" Kuroo exclaimed, his smile was so wide that Koutarou was sure his face would hurt like hell.

" _So good, so good, so good_ " Tsukishima's voice now had a certain mockery, which indicated to the guitarist that the blond had also noticed the havoc that Kenma had caused.

"That's what I'm trying, dumbass! It wouldn't be so difficult if we weren't in the middle of a damn concert!" Kenma answered pushing especially hard a girl who was clearly surprised by the event that was taking place in front of her.

" _And you are so good to me"_ The guitarist thought that maybe Kuroo hadn't been so wrong in asking him to sing the song, after all the raven had only sung until the first half of the song.

" _So good, so good, so good_ " Tsukishima had not been able to hide the amusement in his voice, probably because the poor girl who had been a victim of Kenma still couldn't stand up.

Kuroo stopped playing for a moment to reach out to the long haired boy and help him up on stage.

" _'Cause you are my best friend_ " Koutarou's throat was starting to burn more than normal, but he was sure it was because he was practically screaming so that his voice was heard as loud as usual, after all the microphone of Kuroo was modulated so that it didn't overshadow his voice when singing the choruses.

"Really? Will you marry me?" Kuroo asked, unable to hide the emotion in his voice as he played the bass again.

" _So good, so good, so good_ " the drummer continued sing.

" _Start a family_ " Koutarou sang turning to see how Kuroo knelt with some difficulty, since his hands were busy with the bass strings.

"I already said yes " Kenma growled.

" _So good, so good, so good_ " Koutarou smiled even more hearing how Tsukishima had not managed to control his laughter, although he was not sure if that was due to the scene that his friends were putting on in front of everyone or if it was because the girl still couldn't get up from the ground.

"Idiot, finish the song" Kenma ordered, probably noticing that Kuroo seemed to intend to stop playing.

" _'Cause you are so good to me_ " they sang in unison, Koutarou smirked since he was sure he could hear the tears in his friend's voice.

" _So good, so good, so good..."_

" _And this is love song 23_..." Kuroo sang loud enough to be heard without his microphone, dropping his bass and then looking for something in his jacket, then taking out a small red velvet box. "Will you marry me, Kenma?" Kuroo asked opening the box, which Koutarou assumed had a ring.

"I already said yes, twice, " growled the long-haired man extending his hand, which Kuroo quickly took and placed what Koutarou assumed was the ring that Kuroo had gone to pick up just before the concert.

"We are Just a Band and it was a pleasure to play for you! Happy New Year!" Koutarou shouted before smiling and stare at Akaashi, who was grinning from side to side. "I promise the next time we play this song Kuroo won't ruin it!"

.

"What did you think, Kaashi?" Bokuto's voice asked before Keiji felt a strong arm was wrap his shoulders and a big hand cover his shoulder and pull him to make his body collide with the guitarist's.

"It was very good" the raven declared.

"Just good? Come on! I saw you dancing a couple of times!" Bokuto exclaimed.

"What I did can hardly be considered dancing, Bokuto-san" he replied, feeling his face heat up.

Bokuto's laughter rang in his ears.

"You're right about that, you need some classes, do you want me to teach you?" asked the gray-haired man, pressing him a little harder against his body before passing the hand that was on his shoulder behind his back, keeping it against his middle.

Keiji had no intention of moving away from Bokuto, nor from the pleasant sensation of being pressed against his body. Also, the heat of Bokuto's hand penetrated without problems the thin white fabric of his shirt, leaving a pleasant sensation in his back.

"No thanks, I have lived twenty-six years without knowing how to dance, so I don't need to learn" the raven declared.

"But you could live many more years knowing how to dance!" the guitarist yelled before turning, just enough for their eyes met. "Also, I've benn told that I'm a good teacher."

Keiji didn't doubt for a second that the last words were true.

So it took him a couple of seconds to find an answer to what the gray-haired man had said.

Just as he parted his lips to give a sarcastic enough retort to make up for the seconds of silence, he felt the hand on his back drop to his waist at the same time as Bokuto's other hand was placed on his arm. The hand on his back made a little force to the right, while the hand on his arm moved him back a little and quickly pushed him forward.

After a few moments, Keiji began to move without needing Bokuto's hands to guide him, yet, fortunately, Bokuto did not withdraw his hands.

"If you feel comfortable, you can get a little closer, or we can continue like this, I don't mind" Bokuto said smiling from side to side, and the voice of the gray-haired boy was so sincere, that Keiji decided to step forward and place his arms around Bokuto's neck.

The musician smiled, placing both hands around Keiji's waist.

The song changed and Keiji couldn't help laughing at the lyrics.

"That's so bad" the journalist declared with a laugh, continuing to move at the pace that Bokuto marked.

Bokuto laughed heartily.

"Hey, not everybody is a genius when it comes to writing songs" theboy with gray hair replied. "Also the rhythm is good, look" the man said before lowering his hands a little towards Akaashi's hips and grabbing them with a little more force, and then moving them slightly from one side to the other. "Follow the loudest hits, OK? I'll follow the faster ones."

They both quickly fell into a somewhat strange rhythm, where Bokuto moved quickly and Keiji followed him with a slightly slower pace. Suddenly the voice in the song was a little louder and Keiji found himself having trouble identifing the sound he was supposed to follow.

"Is something wrong?" Bokuto asked.

"Huh?"

Keiji fixed his gaze on Bokuto's eyes, which returned the gaze with concern.

"You're frowning and suddenly you tensed..."

Keiji looked away and shook his head.

"I'm trying to hear the beat but it's a bit difficult.."

The musician's laugh silenced him.

"Relax Kaashi! Don't think it too much! It's about enjoying it! Not about following an instruction or something!" the gray-haired man yelleling lifting his hands up to the elbows and slightly massaging them, causing the journalist noticed his stiffness. "Don't stress about it, just follow me, OK?"

Keiji nodded before starting to follow Bokuto's ryththm.

Just when he began to follow the rhythm without thinking about it too much, the song changed.

Keiji grunted in frustration.

Bokuto laughed heartily.

After a couple times trying, Keiji found a rhythm that he felt comfortable enough with and that worked well enough with the one Bokuto was marking.

"So then? What do you think?"

Keiji smirked.

"I already told you that you played very well" the raven replied trying not to lose focus when answering and not lose his step.

The musician shook his head.

"No, I mean dancing, what do you think?"

Keiji shrugged as he thought it was actually quite entertaining, especially if it was with him and especially if he could keep his hands behind Bokuto's head.

"I could have died without needing to learn howto dance and would't have felt any regrets."

Bokuto laughed heartily.

"I knew you wouldn't admit it."

"Admit what?"

"That you are glad you learned to dance."

Keiji rolled his eyes before thinking that he really enjoyed was dancing with Bokuto. But what really pleased the journalist was that Bokuto had taught him how to dance.

He felt his cheeks heat up at the thought.

It was lucky that the bar had such poor lighting.

"I already told you, Bokuto-san. I could have never learned how to dance and I wouldn't have regretted it" the raven lied.

"Did I tell you that you're terrible a liar?" Bokuto asked making Keiji blush.

.

"Bo! Stop dancing with your non-boyfriend and come here!" Konoha yelled a few meters from the. "Kuroo already stopped crying!"

Koutarou laughed heartily before releasing Akaashi, feeling quite cold as he felt Akaashi's hands leave his neck.

"Let's wish them well them, OK?" He asked turning to see the black-haired man, who at that moment was adjusting his shirt in its place, which during their little dance session went up, revealing a few inches of skin.

"I barely know them" Akaashi muttered, making Koutarou roll his eyes.

"You will know them more, believe me!" He said before taking the journalist's arm and starting to walk to one of the hidden tables in the corner of the place. In the distance he could see how his friends had already gathered around the recntly engaged couple. "Hey! Let me pass! I have to see my best friend!"

"I thought I was your best friend!" Yukie shouted.

"You are my best girl friend! He's my best boy friend!" The gray haired one replied as he made his way to the table, without letting go of Akaashi's arm.

Once in front of Kuroo and Kenma, he smiled as he saw the blush on the long-haired boy's face and Kuroo's red eyes. He released Akaashi's arm and spread his arms for a moment before hugging the two boys in front of him, making their heads collide for a moment.

"Ouch!"

"Hey!"

"Congrats!" the gray-haired boy shouted.

"Bo! You will leave us deaf!" Kuroo complained putting his hand on Koutarou's face and pushing him.

Koutarou laughed heartily before hugging his friend tightly, then turning to see Kenma and hugging him with a little less force.

"I really wish you the best, " he declared, giving them both a long look.

"We know" Kenma declared lowering his face, although Koutarou was sure that the boy was looking at his ring.

"Thank you, it means a lot to us" Kuroo declared taking Kenma's hand.

.

"Hurry up, Kaashi!" Bokuto shouted as he started running, taking Keiji's hand to make him run a little faster. "If we run we'll see the ball fall!"

"How can you run with those boots, Bokuto-san?" the raven asked, feeling that his toes brushed against the hard leather of his boots with each step he took, remembering that when he had met Bokuto in the morning before going to Oikawa's house, Bokuto had indicated that they were both using the same style of Dr. Martens boots.

"I ignore the pain! If that's what you're asking me!" The one with gray hair answered without slowing down.

Keiji cursed the fact that Bokuto was much athletic than he was as he began to breathe the cold Manhattan air through his mouth.

Maybe if he wanted to make his relationship with Bokuto easier, he should go back to the gym. He frowned as he imagined the reaction of Oikawa, who had been begging him to get back to the gym for a year and a half, right after he decided to quit because he didn't have enough time between his work and his masters degree. He decided to stop thinking about it and focus on not stumbling while trying to keep up with Bokuto.

Keiji's lungs started to ache after eight minutes of running.

"B-Bo...kuto-s-san! W-Wait! I-I n-ne...ed t-to... b-brea...the!" The raven managed to say, causing Bokuto to release him immediately, letting Keiji place his hands on his knees and breathe deeply.

"Kaashi! I'm sorry! I didn't notice you were so worked up!"

"I-I'm sorry... It'...s... been... s-so...me t-time s-since... I r-run... th...is m-much i-in o...ne... da...y..."

He hadn't got that tired when he had run on his way to get Bokuto's guitar, but that was probably because he had only run his way to subway stations and bus stops, never for eight minutes straight.

"Hey! Are you OK? Do you need to drink water or something?" Bokuto asked placing a hand on the journalist's back.

Keiji took a moment to breathe before answering.

"I-I'm fine" he finally said.

The pain in his lungs was mostly gone.

Bokuto checked his phone before putting it away.

"It's 11:43, Kaashi" Bokuto announced.

Keiji bit his lip, he wished he could see the Times Square ball go down with Bokuto, but they had stayed longer than expected in the bar celebrating the engagement between Kuroo and Kozume. Although several had had the plan to go to Times Square to celebrate the beginning of a New Year, they were the only ones who had ended up trying to start the new year by watching the Times Square ball drop, the others had preferred to finish the year enjoying the bar lights show.

"Sorry" Akaashi mumbled standing up. "All your friends are at the bar and..."

"Relax, Kaashi! What I really wanted was to end the year with you!" Bokuto cut him off taking Keiji's hand.

"Yeah... but now we'll end the year on an empty street instead of..."

Bokuto smirked from side to side.

"Of course not! We still have time!" Bokuto exclaimed before running again, pulling Keiji's hand to make it keep the pace.

Keiji felt that his feet were killing him, but he couldn't help but feel happy that he was suffering that moment with Bokuto.

Keiji's laugh, interrupted by his attempts to draw air through his mouth, echoed throught the street.

They stopped several times so Keiji could catch his breath before continue running, and Keiji felt how little by little the worry began to cloud his thoughts, if he didn't hurry, Bokuto would receive the new year in the most mediocre way possible, in the middle of an empty street. He quickened his pace and continued running at Bokuto's pace when suddenly shouts from Times Square, which was a block away, and from the surrounding buildings echoed through the night.

Perfect, he had ruined the last and the first moment of Bokuto's year.

"I-I'm... so...rry, B-Bo...k-kuto-san..." Keiji began lowering his head as he tried to catch his breath, not wanting to meet Bokuto's eyes.

"Kaashi" Bokuto called, his voice sounding strangely soft as he felt the weight of Bokuto's hand covered by his gloves touch his shoulder. Was Bokuto upset? Was he disappointed? He kept his gaze on his boots, which were a little more worn out than Bokuto's. "Kaashi, please look at me."

Keiji looked up expecting to meet Bokuto's disappointed gaze, being somewhat surprised to see Bokuto's eyes shine.

"B-Bokuto-san..."

Bokuto's other hand rested on his other shoulder.

"Kaashi, I know we said that we will know each other longer, and I'm not asking you to be my boyfriend right now" Bokuto said a little faster than usual "but..."

Keiji waited for Bokuto to continue but after a few moments it was evident that the gray haired boy was going to stay quiet.

"Is something wrong?"

"Can I kiss you? You know... the tradition is to kiss someone at midnight... I-I'm n-not saying it j-just because o-of tradition... I-I really w-want t-to kiss y-you... S-Since I k-know you... I-I've wanted to d-do it... I-It's not t-that it's t-the only thing I-I want t-to do! I-I also want to d-do more s-stuff!... I-I don't m-mean...!" Bokuto suddenly stopped talking, turning to see Keiji with pleading eyes. "You r-really should s-shut me u-up Kaashi..."

Keiji smiled before taking a step forward

"Sorry, but it's fun to watch you make a fool of yourself" he declared smiling before taking Bokuto's face with his hands, a voice at the back of his mind told him that the wool from his gloves would scrape Bokuto's cheeks. Hopefully Bokuto didn't mind about it.

He stopped worrying when he felt Bokuto's lips on his.

Bokuto's lips were softer than he expected, which made him worry about the state of his own, which were chapped because fo the freezing wind. He wasn't surprised that the musician was good at kissing, but he was surprised at the softness and tenderness of the kiss. It was a slow and relaxed kiss, there was no more force than the necessary in it, nor did he feel the pressure of having to maintain a certain level of intensity. Bokuto's lips seemed to tell him that they could stop at any moment every time they moved against his.

When they pulled apart they were both flushed, probably from the lack of air and what they had just done.

"Happy New Year, Bokuto-san" Keiji said looking away, turning to see the fireworks that adorned the night.

"Happy New Year, Kaashi" Bokuto said, taking his hand again, then looking to the fireworks just like Keiji. "You know? I'm so happy to be here, I have a better view of everything and I'm not fighting for my space against strangers."

Keiji laughed heartily.

"Me too."

The pyrotechnics continued to decorate the sky.

"You know? I heard that the tradition is to kiss someone exactly..." Bokuto was silent for a moment while checking his phone "seven minutes after the year begins."

Keiji laughed before turning to Bokuto.

"I guess then we should..."

Bokuto was very good at kissing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you think? Again, sorry if it was too long, I hope the January chapter is shorter, but I promise to try to cut it in two if ends up being this long... 
> 
> By the way, if you've heard the songs I'm using for Bokuto, Tsukishima and Kuroo's group, could you tell me what you think? It's just curious, the truth is that when I decided that Bokuto would be a musician in the first group I decided to base them was The Kooks... 
> 
> And as always, kudos and comments are more than welcome! The truth is that knowing what you think of this story makes my day! So remember that the box below is for any questions, comments or opinions you want to make! 
> 
> As always, take care!! ♥


	10. New Year's Fortunes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Kaashi! See! They are wearing kimonos! You could have worn your kimono!" Bokuto exclaimed to his ear.
> 
> "Bokuto-san, if you keep screaming in my ear I'm not sure I can keep listening to anything below 80 decibels" the raven said, making the musician sheepishly cover his mouth". "About the kimonos, I'm sure those people are freezing, it would also be strange to wear it with boots, and I don't think it's pleasant to wear sandals with socks in this weather" he added, pointing to the layer of snow that covered the place.
> 
> "You will let me see you wearing your kimono when we return to your apartment, right?" Bokuto asked grinning.
> 
> .
> 
> "Kaashi, can you get up, and turn?" the raven gave him a confused look, to which the musician smiled. "Come on! I want to appreciate how you look properly!"
> 
> "B-But..."
> 
> "Please!"
> 
> Akaashi sighed before standing up and extending his arms.
> 
> "Happy?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took a lot longer than I wanted but I finally finished it!  
> I hope you are very well and forgive me for being late!
> 
> I hope you enjoy it a lot, I think this chapter does not add much history, but I wanted to have a chapter that was just to see how their relationship was developing without other people interacting.
> 
> TW: In a scene there is some blood, just a bleeding nose, nothing to graphic nor gory... but I rather warn you! It's almost at the end!
> 
> Enjoy!

_"_ _Kaashi! Are you awake? Kaashi! Kaashi!_ _"_ Bokuto's voice shouted from the speaker.

"Good morning, Bokuto-san, I think I'm awake, " Keiji murmured into the phone as he poured the coffee that was left in his French press.

 _"_ _You think you're awake?_ _"_ Bokuto's voice asked, clearly amused at the comment. _"_ _By how your voice sounds I'm sure you're asleep._ _"_

"By the way I feel, I am inclined to think so" the raven said before taking a sip of his coffee, hearing the city's bustle through the phone. "You're on your way?"

 _"_ _Ah, I'm actually outside your building_ _"_ said Bokuto. _"Can I come in?"_

Keiji suddenly woke up, before running to the door of his apartment, taking his keys, praying that for once his door opened on the first try. After all, a few hours ago he had spent twenty minutes trying to open it so he could finally rest. If it hadn't been for the fact that he started the year with Bokuto, he probably would have taken it as a very bad omen. Unfortunately, the door didn't budge until ten minutes later, and he had to restrain himself from laughing in frustration during that time.

Once the door decided to cooperate, he ran down the hall to the service door of the building and when he opened it he found himself face to face with Bokuto, who smiled raising his right arm, holding a paper bag with the logo of Bergen Bagels, then the gray-haired boy raised his left hand, which was holding the handle of a small cup holder box, which protected two large paper cups.

"Good morning, Bokuto-san" greeted the journalist, stepping aside. "I'm sorry for making you wait, but my door gave me problems..."

"Relax Kaashi!" Bokuto exclaimed smiling. "Do you wanna to eat this here or on the way to the shrine?"

Keiji blushed before looking down at his feet, which were in the slippers he used to walk at his apartment.

"Eh ... I just need to change..."

"Aren't you cold?"

"Ah... yeah..."

"So what are we doing standing here? Go! You have to get dressed!" the musician exclaimed as he entered the building.

The journalist smiled and started walking after Bokuto, who when he reach the hallway of the apartments, turned to see him.

"Ah... I don't know which one is your apartment..."

Keiji smirked.

"I know, do you want to follow me?"

Bokuto rolled his eyes before nodding.

"Please." Keiji shrugged before walking a few meters to the half-open door of his apartment. "Hey! You could have told me!"

"It wouldn't have been fun" the dark haired boy said while opening the door to let in the musician, who took off his boots at the entrance before attempting to step into the cold floor. "Wait take these!" he exclaimed taking off his slippers and handing them to Bokuto. "I'm sorry if they are the ones I was using, but the extras are in my room..."

"Easy Kaashi, nothing will happen to me if I walk in socks... Shit! It's frozen!"

"I told you, come on, use them, I'll go for the others" the raven said before running barefoot on the cold floor of his apartment, taking the eight pairs of house slippers he had, and putting on another pair.

When he left his room Bokuto was already on the couch.

"You weren't lying when you said that your apartment was cold, I could take off just one jacket" Bokuto said as he placed the food on the coffee table. "Oh! Sorry, but I thought it would be better to have breakfast here..."

"It will be better" he said settleling the eight pairs of slippers in fronto of the shoe rack of the entrance, then he went to the kitchen and washed his hands. "What those bagels have?"

He supposed that Bokuto would bring him some common bagels like the egg with bacon one or cream cheese one.

"Oh, I asked Oikawa about which bagel you prefered and how did you ordered your coffee" the musician said while smiling. "Baked salmon on onion bread, and black coffee with three shots of expresso."

Keiji smirked before sitting down and taking the sandwich that Bokuto offered him.

"And how did you get to talk to Oikawa-san?"

The musician laughed heartily.

"Did you think I would leave Oikawa's house without at least one of their numbers? the gray haired man asked.

Keiji just shruged.

"Did asked their numbers when I went out to buy beer?" the reporter asked before giving a bite of his bagel, savoring the baked salmon. A part of him was saddened by the fact that Bokuto only bought one bagel for him, after all his regular order was two, but another part of him was grateful that Oikawa didn't embarrased him in front of Bokuto. "I don't remember hearing you ask for his number..."

"Oh, rather he forced me to give him my number, thou it's not like I didn't want to give it to him..."

Keiji rolled his eyes.

"Typical of Oikawa-san."

.

"But Kaashi...!" Koutarou exclaimed as he got on the bus behind Akaashi, who, unlike an hour ago, was wearing appropriate shoes and clothes for the thin layer of snow that covered the city.

"I can assure you that there is nothing interesting on my profile" the raven declared, who was walking down the aisle of the bus.

"Your profile says you have 51 posts!" The gray-haired man exclaimed once he had tapped his card through the reader.

"51 uninteresting posts" the reporter replied as he sat by a window."Trust me."

"Let me decide that! Please Kaashi! You can see my posts!" Koutarou exclaimed quite frustrated as he sat down next to Akaashi, feeling his arm and leg press against the raven's body.

He loved the lack of personal space on public transportation while he was with Akaashi.

"That's because you decided to set your profile as public..."

"Please! Kaashi! Just accept my request!"

"No, Bokuto-san."

The gray haired man grunted before pulling out his phone and entering the app.

"What are you doing?" The reporter asked trying to see the phone's screen, which Koutarou avoided by turning the screen a little, causing Akaashi to raise an eyebrow and smirk.

_Oikawa Tooru._

Five profiles appeared and none of them had a brunet in the profile photo.

_Oikawa_

There were too many profiles.

_Tooru_

Even more profiles appeared.

He grunted in frustration before completely erasing the brunet's name and searching for his boyfriend's name.

_Iwaizumi Hajime_ _._

One profile had a small photograph of the coach.

_@hajime_iwa_4_

"Bingo."

He felt Akaashi stiffen beside him.

"Huh? Bokuto-san? What are you doing?"

_Hajime Iwaizumi_

_Athletic trainer_

_Don't think of anything unnecessary._

Iwaizumi's account was public, so he had no problem following him.

Without thinking it twice, he entered the profile, a bit surprised at the number of posts in it, 279. He quickly went through the thumbnails, most of the pics were of Iwaizumi in front of a mirror of a gym or of him exercising. In several of them Oikawa appeared next to him, and in others he appeared with different groups of people, and he soon found an interesting photo.

In it appeared Oikawa, Iwaizumi, a rather short brunet guy and Akaashi.

"Bokuto-san, please don't do that, " Akaashi asked once the musician started following the Instagram accounts of his friends, who were tagged in the photograph.

"Hey! If I can't see your photos, at least I will be able to see the photos were you are in with your friends!" He explained while entering Sugawara's profile, which was also private, although judging by the number of followers, he would have no problem with his request.

Akaashi frowned before unlocking his phone.

Koutarou smiled blocking the screen of his own phone before fixing his gaze on the black-haired man, who smirked before entering the Instagram app. He saw how the young man went to the notifications section, where his following request appeared next to a blue button that said _"Confirm"_.

He was about to ask in a condescending tone 'Was it that difficult?' when he saw Akaashi hit the _"Delete"_ button .

"Huh? Kaashi! Why did you delete it?" the gray-haried boy exclaimed before grabbing the black-haired man's shoulders and shaking him slightly, perfectly noticing and enjoying the appearance of the blush that took over the journalist's face.

He deserved it.

"I don't see why you want to see my profile, after all you can see the photos where I appear in my friend's photos" Akaashi declared with a smirk that was ruined by the pink color that decorated his face and the fidgeting of his fingers.

Koutarou rolled his eyes before bringing his face closer to the raven's and pressing a kiss to his lips.

The guitarist smirked as he saw the pink color on Akaashi's face intensify.

.

Keiji smiled as they started to walk through the park, noticing how as they got closer to the botanic garden section of Brooklyn Park, more people started walking in the same direction as them. In the groups of people who walked along with them, Keiji could count at least one person with Asian features or dressed in a traditional kimono. He wondered for a moment what others would think of them, would they see at least one trait in them that gave away their origin? Would they notice that they were speaking Japanese? Would they think it was just a couple who went to the temple for the sole purpose of satisfying their curiosity?

They would probably think the latter.

He smiled when he saw the lake in front of the temple.

"Kaashi! See! They are wearing kimonos! You could have worn your kimono!" Bokuto exclaimed to his ear.

"Bokuto-san, if you keep screaming in my ear I'm not sure I can keep listening to anything below 80 decibels" the raven said, making the musician sheepishly cover his mouth". "About the kimonos, I'm sure those people are freezing, it would also be strange to wear it with boots, and I don't think it's pleasant to wear sandals with socks in this weather" he added, pointing to the layer of snow that covered the place.

"You will let me see you wearing your kimono when we return to your apartment, right?" Bokuto asked grinning.

Keiji felt his cheeks heat up again as he nodded slightly.

They continued walking until they found themselves at the end of the small line of people waiting at the shrine's entrance.

"And what will we do in the shrine?"

Keiji arched an eyebrow somewhat surprised.

"What do you think we'll do?"

Bokuto scratched his temple.

"I don't know, pray? Ring a bell and clap your hands? I don't know, I just remember a bit of a soap opera where they went to Japan and did that..."

Keiji shrugged before nodding.

"Yeah, we'll make our prayers, and then we can pick our fortune for the year, if you are not afraid of getting a bad one..."

"Huh? What kind of fortune is that?" the gray haired man asked clearly surprised. "It's depressing!"

"What kind of fortune do you expect?"

"I don't know! You will find the love of your life! You will get a raise! You will travel a lot!"

The journalist smirked, typical of Americans, wishing that something outside their control determined something, but asking exclusively for good results. So what was the point of leaving things to chance for them? Where was the charm of doing it if there was no danger? What was the point of risking something if there was nothing against it?

He decided to not voice his thoughts for the moment.

"Fortunes are usually good, regular or bad, they are not so specific as to tell you what your fortune will be, but you can always think of something specific when taking it and think that it will apply especially to that..."

The gray-haired one snorted, it was obvious that he didn't like the possibility of having a bad fortune, no matter if it could be for something specific or if it could be a general one.

They were both silent for a few minutes, advancing as the people in front of them passed to the shrine. Keiji focused his attention on the lake in front of them, specifically the red structure in it. For a few moments he remembered his last first visit to the shrine in Tokyo, just after drinking with his friends until they saw the sunrise, and then deciding to visit the temple, after all at that moment they had nothing better to do.

He wondered for a moment what had happened to his old friends, did they still remember him? Would they think that he had changed to much? He looked at his boots, thinking that the eighteen-year-old Keiji who was about to leave high school would never have considered buying a $170 wine-colored military boots. He turned to see the gray-haired boy next to him, thinking that the high school Keiji would have never considered going out in public with someone like Bokuto, much less would he have been comfortable enough to take his hand, or kiss him on the cheek in public.

Probably for the people he had left behind in Japan, he had changed a lot.

"Why risk that the first forecast of your year be a bad one?" Bokuto asked, pulling the journalist out of his thoughts.

\- What is the point of risking something if there can only be a positive result?" Keiji countered smirking when he saw Bokuro frown. "Is it really taking a risk if there are no negative outcomes?"

Bokuto was silent for a few moments, in which they advanced a couple of spaces in line to enter the shrine.

"I guess it doesn't make much sense" the one with gray hair muttered, making Keiji genuinely smile, it was fun to see how Bokuto readjusted his ideas, how he tilted his head a bit, as if trying to make room for that new idea, how he closed his eyes before to reopen them. "This way there's more fun..."

"Will it be fun for you to get a good fortune knowing someone got a bad one?" the raven asked before taking another couple of steps forward.

"Sure! When I get my good fortune I will be able to laugh imagining the faces of those who pick a bad fortune!"

"And what will happen if it happens to me? Will you laugh at me, Bokuto-san?"

Bokuto arched an eyebrow before smiling with an air of security and cockyness that Keiji felt suited him a little much too well.

"I have a feeling you're not worried about getting a bad fortune" the musician replied.

"In that... you are right, I do not think that a piece of paper will determine my performance during the year... Besides, I have never obtained a bad fortune" the journalist replied.

Bokuto laughed nodding.

"I thought so, besides bad fortunes are only for losers."

.

Akaashi's laughter was not loud like his and his sisters', nor was it hyena-like like Kuroo's, nor did it have that tone of malice like Tsukishima and Konoha's.

And yet at that moment he was torn between deciding if it was his favorite sound or if it was the sound he hated the most.

At that moment at least.

"I-I thought that the bad f... fortunes were only for losers" the raven said while laughing as they both left the shrine.

"Kaashi..."

"Y-You sounded so sure" continued the journalist, his laughter began to diminish as the seconds passed, although the amusement didn't dissappear from his voice. "I didn't thought you were going to take your fortune so seriously."

Koutarou bit his lower lip before rolling his eyes.

"Of course I don't take it seriously! But it's frustrating that my fortune for the year is a bad one!"

Akaashi laughed again before placing a hand on his shoulder.

"What if instead of buying thai food we buy chinese? I bet you the fortune of the cookie will make up for this one" the raven proposed.

Bokuto smiled, Akaashi was kind enough to play along without sounding too condescending. Besides, Akaashi was probably already hungry, after all Bokuto had only bought him a bagel wanting to avoid explaining why he knew that his regular breakfast consisted in two bagels.

"My favorite place is a bit far from your place... but I know a good place not far from Underhill, " said the gray-haired one straighting his back.

"We can eat at the place or at your place..." the journalist began to say.

"No! You said I'll see you wear that kimono when we come back!" The musician exclaimed, noticing how some heads turned to see them, which didn't matter much to him, after all if they saw Akaashi they would understand why he wanted to see him in a kimono.

"Wait! You didn't tie your fortune to a tree!" exclaimed the journalist.

"Huh?"

"It's so your bad luck doesn't leave the place" Akaashi explained taking Koutarou's arm before going back towards the shrine, only this time they went to a tree that was at the entrance, which had several white papers in its branches. "Just tie it to the branch."

"And this cancels my bad luck?"

Akaashi shrugged.

"Part of it at least" the raven said before walking towards the park's exit, being followed by Koutarou, who felt a little better seeing that several people had obtained a bad fortune, just like him.

As they waited for the bus that would drop them off a couple of blocks from the building where Akaashi lived, a cold gust of wind passed by, making Koutarou think that his companion had been right in not wearing his traditional clothes. He smiled when he noticed how Akaashi pressed his body more against his side as he offered his arm to Akaashi.

The journalist's arms wrapped around Koutarou's arm, causing him to blush slightly.

Theys stayed silent until tha bus was in front of them.

.

Keiji gave Bokuto the bag of Chinese food that he had carried for two hundred yards, so that he could start rummaging through his pockets for his keys. After a few moments, he managed to get his hand out with a set of keys jingling with the movement. Without much difficulty, he opened the door that led to the stairs of the apartment complex and let Bokuto go first.

"I still believe that it is stupid that not all Chinese restaurants have fortune cookies, what is special about almond cookies?" the gray-haired man muttered once they were inside the journalist's apartment. "I can't believe we had to buy spring rolls at the other place just to get some fortune cookies."

"Funny that you say it, in Japan it is quite common for restaurants to have these cookies instead of fortune ones" Keiji replied as he closed the door, praying that the next time the door need to be open it woudn't give him problems. "Do you want to eat on the couch or in the table?" He asked as he asked himself when was the last time he had used table for something other than working and spreading different papers from his research for his projects.

Bokuto shrugged.

"On the couch? We could see a movie or a something" The gray-haired man answered as he left the bags of food on the coffee table.

"Do you have something in mind? I have Amazon Prime and Netflix" the raven asked sitting down.

"Have you seen that german series? The one where a child gets lost and a dead child is found in the woods? The main character has a yellow raincoat..." Keiji turned on the television and began searching Netflix for the show, he was sure he had seen an ad with that storyline. "That one! Dark! Konoha and Yukippe haven't stopped talking about it since the new season premiered..."

"I haven't seen it, but Haiba and Oikawa-san have recommened it" he said before pressing the play button. "Oh, do you want to see it in the original language or in English?"

Bokuto shrugged.

"I don't really care, but if you leave it in English we can understand without always paying attention."

"Does eating requieres that much of attention?" The journalist asked in a mocking tone that, judging by how Bokuto's eyebrows had arched, he had detected immediately.

"Very funny Kaashi, for your information I can eat and read subtitles at the same time with no problem" declared the musician before taking a carton of food. "Do you want us to eat it directly? Or do you want to use proper plates?"

Keiji shrugged.

"If you don't mind eating straight from the container... I'd rather not have to wash dishes today" said the black-haired one.

Bokuto laughed heartily.

"I understand you perfectly, so what do you prefer? Sweet-sour chicken? Orange chicken? Do you want the lo mein? Although we have two cartons of fried rice..."

"In fact I would like to try a little of everything, would you mind sharing?" Keiji asked while taking one of the containers and a pair of chopsticks.

Bokuto smirked before taking the container from Keiji and placing it back on the coffee table.

"Did you know that everyone uses wrong the Chinese food containers? They must actually unfold completely and become a plate" explained the one with gray hair, removing the metal handle from the box.

Keiji took the box from him before Bokuto could continue with his demonstration.

"I know, I've done it before, but let me tell you it sounds much more practical than it actually is" replied Keiji taking a piece of orange chicken. "You just read it, right?"

Bokuto blinked clearly dumbfounded.

"Huh? How did you know?"

The journalist shrugged.

"No one that has done it before would think it is a good idea, once Yaku-san and I did that, and let me tell you that is the worst way to eat chow mein" the raven said.

"I guess I my attempt to woo you my general culture didn't work out"the gray haired man muttered taking the container sweet-sour chicken.

"Not really, but it was a nice try" Keiji said before stealing a piece of sweet-sour chicken from the container Bokuto was holding.

As he began to chew the piece in his mouth, he stole another piece of the carton that was between the musician's hands, also putting it in his mouth to begin chewing it and then stealing a third piece that had the same fate as the other two, when tried to steal a fourth piece, Bokuto pushed the container aside.

"Kaashi! How can so much food fit in your mouth? You look like a squirrel!" Keiji wasn't sure if Bokuto was terrified, amused or amazed.

Probably it was all fo above.

The journalist finished chewing and swallowed before speaking.

"I have the talent of being able to put many things in my mouth" Keiji declared without paying much attention and stealing another piece of sweet and sour chicken. Just when the piece was inside his mouth, the words he had spoken made sense. He stared at Bokuto, who was flushed and wide-eyed, feeling his face heat up instantly. "That sounded terrible."

Bokuto cleared his throat before speaking.

"In another situation it would probably sound very good" the musician said.

"A situation that is not this" Keiji muttered before stealing another piece of sweet and sour chicken.

"Do you want us to change?" he asked Bokuto offering him the cardboard journalist, who quickly shook his head.

"No, I want to eat both" he said before taking a piece of chicken from the carton that he was holding with his left hand.

Bokuto gave him one of the containers of fried rice, which he thanked before starting to eat it, he continued eating from the cartons that were on his lap, until he decided that he wanted to try some of the chow mein that Bokuto was holding.

"Kaashi, have you ever been told that you are a glutton?" Bokuto asked letting the journalist take the some of the noodles.

Keiji felt his cheeks turn red.

"Most people who have known me long enough to notice it had told me in one way or another" he said before turning his gaze to the carton orange chicken was in his lap and take on piece. "I think I have eaten a lot of your food, sorry" he added offering the carton to Bokuto.

The musician laughed heartily.

"Relax I think I have eaten as much as you, but unlike you I have not had to steal half of my food" he said fixing his gaze on the second box of fried rice and the bag of spring rolls.

Keiji shrugged before stealing some lo mein again.

They continued eating without talking too much, dividing their attention between eating and watching TV, watching how the kids from show ran in the forest after hearing a noise.

By the time the first episode ended, the food was gone.

"We could have seen in the original language" Keiji whispered sitting back on the couch after getting rid of the food containers. "How difficult is it to eat and read subtitles?"

"I didn't say it because eating and reading the subtitles was difficult" the musician replied.

Keiji smirked.

"You're one of those who can't stand subtitles, right?"

The gray-haired man smirked.

"No, I was saying it because it is probably very difficult to read the subtitles while doing this, " Bokuto stated before putting his arm around Keiji's shoulders, pulling him and pressing his lips against the journalist's.

He was not sure if he could have known what was happening in the series, even if they had watched it in japanese, all his senses were focused on Bokuto.

.

"Oh, Oikawa wasn't lying when he said he looked like an Edo prince" Koutarou said as he watched Akaashi, who was about to sit beside him on the couch to continue watching TV. They were about to see the fourth chapter and Koutarou wasn't sure he understood the story, although that was probably because the last two chapters had been distracted kissing a certain journalist.

"Thanks, but I doubt that a prince of that period would use something as simple as this" Akaashi said leaning against his shoulder and looking towards the TV, stretching his arm with the clear intention to take the remote.

"Wait, I want to see you like this a bit more, " Koutarou murmured, knowing perfectly well that his lips had brushed the outside of the journalist's ear.

"B-Bokuto-san..."

"Come on, let me appreciate how good you look wearing it, please?" he whispered before pull apart his mouth from Akaashi's ears and place his hands on his shoulders, so the raven faced him. "It's amazing that the fabric is the same color as your eyes..."

"N-Not so much" the journalist stammered before clearing his throat. "Since I was a child m-my parents had m-make my k-kimono this c-color..."

Koutarou quite enjoyed seeing Akaashi blush, especially when it wasn't due to some stupidity with which he had embarrassed himself and consequently embarrassed the journalist. He liked how Akaashi's blush extended from his cheekbones to his neck, how his shoulders were slightly shrugging, as if he was trying to make himself small, how he averted his gaze, how he fidgeted with his fingers, and above all how he bit the inside of his cheek.

"I'm glad you kept the tradition alive" said the gray haired one smiling as he touched the fabric, it was much thicker than he expected, and to his surprise it seemed to have other equally thick fabrics underneath.

"T-They gave m-me this kimono, I-I have h-have it since I c-came here" Akaashi said.

A part of Koutarou's mind wondered how those clothes could be in such good condition after so long, but he decided that he would ask about it at another time.

"Kaashi, can you get up, and turn?" the raven gave him a confused look, to which the musician smiled. "Come on! I want to appreciate how you look properly!"

"B-But..."

"Please!"

Akaashi sighed before standing up and extending his arms.

"Happy?"

Koutarou shook his head.

"Come on, turn, please."

"Bokuto-san... " Akaashi's voice had lost that touch of shyness that it had had until that moment, being replaced by an almost monotonous voice.

Almost.

Koutarou was sure he heard some amusement in his voice.

"Please, one turn, just one" Koutarou asked, noting that the color of the hakama was a shade lighter than that of the nagagi, and that the haori was much darker than the other two pieces.

As the musician reflected on how each of the colors seemed to be Akaashi's eye color, the black-haired man took a quick turn.

"Huh? Wait! I couldn't look you! Take another turn! But slower!"

"You said just one."

"But you turned when I was distracted! And it was too fast!"

He began to prepare to complain when he saw Akaashi roll his eyes, but fell silent when he noticed how the journalist made a second turn, much slower than the previous one.

Koutarou felt his heart stop for an instant when he saw Akaashi move. His hair had become a little more disheveled with the movement, the fabric of his haori had become a little disarranged, falling a little from his right shoulder, his face was relaxed, his eyes were slightly narrowed and his lips were slightly curved towards above. There was nothing special about the look of the young man standing in front of him, and yet he still felt that the scene in front of him deserved to be displayed in a museum.

"Can I sit down now, Bokuto-san?" the raven asked crossing his arms.

Koutarou smiled before clasping his hands as if to pray.

"Do it again? Please?"

.

"I'm so glad this show ended" Bokuto said as he stretched when credits the sixth chapter of the first season began to appear.

"I thought you liked it?" the raven muttered rising an eyebrow. "Besides we only have seen the first half of the first season, I suppose we'll understand it better as the chapters go by."

Bokuto smirked.

"That's what I mean, imagine having to wait a whole week to see the next chapter to understand what is happening" said the gray-haired boy. "We just have to press a button and that's it!"

Keiji massaged his neck, he had three chapters without moving and his body felt a bit sore from the bad positioning, after all being leaning against Bokuto's body wasn't the best position, but certainly one of the most pleasant ones.

"Netflix has ruined you, right? You can't wait a week to see a chapter anymore, can you?" he asked sitting down properly, missing Bokuto's warmth immediately.

"Yeah, now I have to wait for the whole series to finish to see it" the musician confessed. "You too right?"

"If it's any use to you, I think Netflix uploaded the whole season at once, you wouldn't have had to wait a week to understand what was happening..."

"Netflix ruined us" Bokuto muttered pretending to be defeated before taking the remote. "Do you want to start the next chapter?"

"Sure."

The sound of the streaming service's curtain took their attention.

Keiji chuckled before stretching and feeling his spine release its tension with a loud snap.

He couldn't keep a moan from escaping his lips.

Keiji blushed and noticed how Bokuto tensed beside him.

"I-I'm sorry, it's just that I need t-to s-stre..."

"R-Relax, I-I know how good that feels, " Koutarou muttered before turning to watch the TV.

The journalist took a deep breath trying to calm his pulse as he tried to make sense of the kaleidoscope images of the series' entry theme. Suddenly he understood one, they were two people having sex, probably the protagonist and the girl he liked.

That didn't help at all.

Still he continued to focus on the series, until about ten minutes later he found himself completely relaxed.

Until Bokuto happened to put his arm behind his shoulders and pull him towards him.

"Kaashi, that was the sexiest thing I've ever heard in my entire life, " Bokuto whispered in his ear, making Keiji shudder when he felt his warm breath.

"B-Bokuto-san ... I just s-stretched..."

Bokuto sighed before turning his face away from him, but increasing the strength of his hand on his shoulder.

"I know... but that moan was so..." he began to say before relaxing the hand that was on the journalist's shoulder and sighing, withdrawing his face, making Keiji feel cold. "Sorry I shouldn't have done that..."

Keiji gulped before turning to order Bokuto.

"Bokuto-san... Would you get mad if we had to rewatch the chapter?" the raven asked causing the musician to turn at him confused. "I know it's in English, but I don't think I can pay attention to it while we're doing this" he declared.

The gray-haired man smirked.

"What are we gonna do, Kaashi?" Bokuto asked withdrawing his arm from Keiji's shoulders before lying on the couch, his face as far away as possible.

The journalist rolled his eyes before grabbing Bokuto's arm and pulling it tightly, making the musician sit up, once that was done, he pressed his lips against the gray-haired man's lips.

Bokuto's hands were soon on his waist, making Keiji wish his kimono was much thinner, at least enough that he could feel the warmth of the musician's hands on his skin. Keiji in turn brought his hands to Bokuto's hair, deciding that he wanted to know how soft his hair actually was. The strands of hair that passed between his fingers didn't disappoint him.

Bokuto broke away from him and took his face in his hands.

"Kaashi, I-I have to know... how far do you want to go with this?" the one with golden eyes asked, making Keiji blush and look away.

"Today, is it okay if we just...? - The black-haired man fell silent feeling somewhat embarrassed before taking a deep breath and fixing his gaze on Bokuto. "I want us to go slowly."

Bokuto nodded smiling.

"Me too" the musician muttered before pressing his forehead against Keiji's. "Believe me I want more" he added, tightening his grip on the journalist's waist a little more", but we have time."

Keiji quickly kissed Bokuto and pressed his forehead against the musician again.

"Thanks" he whispered before Bokuto kissed him again, a little rougher.

As he devoted himself to savoring Bokuto's lips as much as he could, he vaguely heard how someone warned the protagonist of the series that he should not take the missing boy with him. He didn't try to pay attention, he would have to go back to the chapter again after all, since he wasn't going to stop kissing Bokuto anytime soon.

.

It was two in the morning and they had just one chapter to finish the first season, but Koutarou could see perfectly how Akaashi began to nod beside him, and he himself felt like he had to make a great effort to understand what was happening in the show.

"I think we should leave the next chapter for another time" Koutaro spoke at Akaashi's ear, who raised his head sharply, hitting him in the nose.

Koutarou howled in pain.

Akaashi turned immediately.

"Bokuto-san! I'm sorry! Let me see!" the journalist exclaimed trying to move Koutarou's hands, which were covering his nose. When the gray hair parted his lips to tell him not to worry, he tasted something metallic. "It's bleeding! Let me check!"

Koutarou leaned back without uncovering his nose.

"Relax Kaashi, don't worry, I don't feel like it's broken, but I'll check it myself..."

"Bokuto-san, I can check it, I don't..."

"Seriously, Kaashi, I know some first aid, Lisa forced me to learn" he explained, getting up from the sofa and walking towards the bathroom, remembering how a couple of hours ago Akaashi had indicated that it was the door on the right.

Akaashi's hurried steps were immediate.

"I also took a first aid course, it is also easier to treat someone else than yourself" he added as he entered the bathroom behind him and bent to open the cabinet under the sink. The gray hair noted that despite the calm voice of Akaashi, his hands had a slight tremor. "Sit down and keep your head forward please."

Koutarou nodded slightly pressing his nose.

"I don't think it's broken" the musician muttered as he removed his hands.

"I do not think neither you or me are qualified to say that" Akaashi replied as he wiped blood from his face, giving light touches as he cleaned the skin. "Thou, I believe the same, it doesn't look very swollen."

"Yeah, it does not hurt too much, only base hurts, where you gave me the headbutt."

"It wasn't on purpose" the raven muttered while he finished cleaning the blood and fished some cotton balls. "I'm going to put these in your nose, OK? It may hurt a li..."

"Yeah, yeah, relax Kaashi, just do it."

Akaashi smirked before stuffing his nostrils with cotton.

They were silent for a few moments, Koutarou sitting on the toilet and Keiji squatting in front of him.

"Your clothes have some blood on them" the journalist said.

Koutarou looked down, checking that his sweatshirt now had a couple of bloodstains on it.

"Hey, don't worry, if Lisa knows something is how to remove blood from clothes, I'll ask her to tell me how to clean this."

"It is very useful that Lisa-san is a doctor" Akaashi muttered before stretching his hand and take Koutarou's chin, turning his face slightly from side to side. "You should ask her to check you..."

"I'll do that, but I'll do it when the sun comes up again, she is usually very tired after work."

"What area did she work in?"

"ER."

Akaashi nodded.

"Sounds exhausting."

"According to her it is, but she likes the emotion. Or so she says."

That said they continued in silence for another couple of minutes before Koutarou got up.

"Do you want to see the last chapter?"

Akaashi turned to see him, clearly surprised.

"I just headbutted you on the nose..."

Koutarou smiled.

"So what? We are quite awake and we only have one chapter left..."

"You said it was better to call it for today..."

The musician shrugged.

"That was because we were falling asleep, but with this I feel quite awake, and I think you also look very awake."

"But your nose..."

"Watching another episode won't affect my nose, Kaashi" the musician interrupted smiling. "Also, I would like to understand at least something about what is happening in the story before going to sleep, don't you?"

Akaashi smiled before standing up.

"After you" he said as he extended his right arm, as if indicating a path to getout of the bathroom.

.

The sound of his alarm made his eyes snap open.

He sat up feeling a bit strange and as he took his surroundings. He didn't remember going to sleep, and that place didn't look like his room. He turned around looking for his phone, finding it on the coffee table, not far from him.

A growl behind him made him stop caring where he was.

Then he remembered everything at once.

Bokuto, his nose bleeding, trying to see the last chapter of the first season.

It didn't take to be rocketscientist to connect the dots, but having awakened a few seconds ago made Keiji have some trouble understanding what happened.

He turned off the alarm and turned his body slightly to see the young man on whom he had slept, noticing then that Bokuto's hand was slightly pressed against his waist, probably a few moments ago he had been hugging him.

Little by little the fog of his brain began to dissipate.

They had probably fallen asleep in the middle of the chapter, he turned to watch his TV and noticed how the screen showed a text box with the message " _Are you still there?_ ". He didn't remember the season's finalle, so he supposed he had to watch the episode again.

A snore behind him made him smile.

Bokuto hadn't woken up either to the noise of the alarm and not to Keiji's movements.

He closed his eyes wondering what a good idea it was to lie back down and go back to sleep with the gray haired one. Despite the seemingly awkward position he must have slept on while been hugged by Bokuto, he felt like he had slept very well.

But it was Thursday and he had to work.

"Bokuto-san" Keiji called turning a little, just in time to see how the musician frown . "Bokuto-san..."

He kept calling him a few more times before giving up.

He got up deciding that if Bokuto didn't have an alarm to wake him up, he probably didn't have to go to work that day.

When he got up he thought that it would be a good idea to leave his kimono at a dry cleaners service. He began to get rid of the kimono pieces as he walked to his room, by the time he found himself in front of his closet, his kimno was on his bed, and he was only wearing a black thermal set. He rummaged through his closet for a few moments, finally deciding on a gray turtle neck, then he thought that the jeans that he had worn to go to the shrine wewn't disstressed so he could use them to work. He took underwear from a drawer and went to the bathroom, peeking into the living room a bit to check that Bokuto was indeed still asleep.

.

"Bokuto-san..."Akaashi's voice called, which somehow sounded quite distant, but the same time seemed to be very close to him. "Bokuto-san... Wake up, Bokuto-san..."

Koutarou opened his eyes slowly, grateful that Akaashi's curtains were thick enough to block out most of the sunlight.

Suddenly he felt wide awake.

He had slept in Akaashi's living room.

He was sure he had fallen asleep hugging a fairly sleepy journalist. He remembered trying to keep his eyes open as the episode got more and more complicated, until he noticed that the raven in his arms was asleep, deciding that if Akaashi would have to see the chapter again, he might as well see it again with him. So he had allowed his eyes to close.

And now the journalist who had slept in his arms was in front of him, showing him a plate with two sunny side up eggs, bacon and toast.

"I thought if there was at least some breakfast waiting for you, you wouldn't mind if I woke you up" the raven said smirking as Koutarou took the plate.

"Thanks, Kaashi, you shouldn't have bothered" the gray-haired one said, starting to cut the egg with the side of the fork.

"There was no bother, I had to make breakfast for me" the journalist said before fixing his gaze o his mug. "I don't have anything to make hot chocolate... And I don't think you want coffee, but I have orange juice, do you want some?"

Koutarou nodded before returning his eyes to the plate as Akaashi walked back to the kitchen. The yolk of the egg was not as runny as he would have liked, but the bacon was crisp and the bread was golden brown. Overall it was a good breakfast, even if this one was missing a bit more of food.

Soon Akaashi came back, offering him a glass of orange juice, which Koutarou thanked smiling.

"You know? As you've mentioned that you bought takeout, I never thought you could really cook" he said once he had eaten the first egg.

Akaashi blushed a little before turning his face away.

"I can't cook anything too complicated, but I can do simple things like eggs and bacon, and Sugawara-san says that he prefers how I make the oatmeal rather than how Daichi-san does it," the raven said.

"One day I will teach you how to make the egg's yolk runny" he declared before cutting another piece of egg.

Akaashi raised an eyebrow.

"I don't like the yolk to be too runny" the raven said ", but now I know you like to eat the egg almost raw."

Koutarou rolled his eyes, so Akaashi was on Komi's and Konoha's side.

"It's not raw, you just don't get it..."

His words died when an alarm was heard.

"Oh, I gotta hurry" the journalist muttered before taking a long sip his coffee, which probably contained coffee, and eat his last piece of bacon. "I'm sorry but I have to go, Bokuto-san."

"Oh! Wait! Give me a second to finish...!"

"Relax, Bokuto-san, you don't have to hurry, you can stay as long as you like" the raven interrupted while smiling. "If you want to take a bath you can take some clothes from my closet" he added before frowning. "Ah... I don't think there are many clothes in your size but you can probably wear one of my sweatshirts..."

"Easy! Kaashi!" The gray haired one exclaimed when he saw Akaashi began to worry. "I should head back to my place soon, I won't be working until Monday, but I wanted to work on some ideas I had for a couple of songs..."

Akaashi smiled.

"Will you prepare them so Kuroo-san and Tsukishima-kun can listen them?" Akaashi asked walking to the kitchen.

"Uh, no... these are for my work, are for coffee campaing" he explained before an idea popped in his mind. "Hey! Would you like to hear my drafts and tell me which one makes you want to drink coffee?"

Akaashi turned to look at him in surprise before smirking.

"Bokuto-san, do I remind you of all the coffee I drink? I don't need to hear a song to want to drink coffee" the raven said. "Did you finished? Pass me your plate please."

Koutarou walked into the kitchen, handed the plate to the journalist, and leaned against cabinets.

"I know, but I would like your opinion, it would also be a very good excuse to see you" he added, feeling satisfied when he saw that the journalist blushed a little.

"If I finish some stuff on time, I may have Sunday free, although my friends will probably try to have a brunch since Yaku-san and Haiba-kun will be back Saturday night..."

Koutarou smiled.

"Would you like to go for a coffee and listen to my songs after your brunch with your friends?" the musician asked.

To Koutarou's surprise, Akaashi quickly shook his head.

"Would you like to have brunch with me and my friends? Then we could go to your place to listen to your songs."

The gray-haired one nodded smiling.

They stayed silent for a few moments before Akaashi continued washing the dishes and Koutarou decided to adjust the sofa a bit, arranged the two cushions and picked the food containers from the previous afternoon so they could throw them away.

It was then that he saw them.

The reason they had bought Chinese food the evening before.

"Kaashi! Come! We have to see what our fortune will be this year!"

Akaashi snorted in amusement before walking into the living room and sitting on the couch next to him.

"But we already have our fortune for this year, I had good fortune and you a bad fortune" Ajaashi declared smirking.

The musician just rolled his eyes before handing a fortune cookie to the black-haired man, who accepted it and soon took it out of its packaging.

"This will be our fortune of this year, Kaashi" the musician declared. "We will break them at the count of three, OK? One... Two... Three..."

The snap of two cookies being split in half was heard.

"What curious fortune" Akaashi murmured, with one hand holding the two pieces of biscuit and the other a small paper strip. " _Do it or don't do it. There is no trying."_

Excitedly, he put the two pieces of cookie in his mouth before reading the paper.

.

Keiji felt his stomach hurt from laughing so much.

"Kaashi! It isn't funny!"

Keiji continued laughing.

"Yeah, it is, taking into account that you said that this is your fortune of the year" the raven declared turning to see Bokuto. "I find it hilarious."

"Kaashi!"

Keiji looked back at the little paper that Bokuto had tried so hard to hide from him, saying that his cookie had no fortune.

_"For rectal use only."_

"I'm the one who will make my own fortune! I won't let a shrine's paper or a cookie dictate my fortune!"

Keiji continued to laugh heartily.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm starting a Valentine's day chapter, but I was thinking of doing a short one about the lunar new year, you know just so that they have the excuse to say that you are not Chinese, but Japanese?
> 
> Anyway! I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I had a lot of fun writing it, even if I wrote and rewrote it twice.
> 
> As always, Kudos and comments are something very beautiful that makes me very happy to see in my mail!  
> Any comment, critique or doubt or anything just write it down and I shall answer!
> 
> Take care!! ♥

**Author's Note:**

> And fun fact about me, more than half of my life I lived in San Diego, California, I returned to live in Mexico when I entered university, because the university in Mexico is so much cheaper than in the United States. I'm telling you about this because several of the situations in this story are based on my own and my friend's experiences, so when you think that something that happens is very stupid, it is probably something that really happened.
> 
> I hope you liked the story!!  
> Take care!! ❤


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